4 


ANALYTIC 


ELOCUTION  ' 


CONTAINING   STUDIES,  THEORETICAL    AND    PRACTICAL,  OF   EXPRESSIVE 
SPEECH 


BY 


iJ^ 


JAMES  E.  MURDOCH 
ij 

Author  of  "  The  Stage  "  and  "  A  Plea  for  Spoken  Language  ' 


NEW-YORK     .:•    CINCINNATI     •:•     CHICAGO 

AMERICAN   BOOK  COMPANY 


9f\< 


M^Ty- 


By  the  Author  of  Murdoch's  Analytic  Elocution: 
A  Plea  for  the  Study  of  Spoken  Language:  History  of  the  develops 

mtnt  of  the  best  system  of  Elocution,  including  brief  treatment  of  sys- 
tems formerly  used,  and  an  Appendix  containing  Barber  s  Essay  on 
Rhythmus,  and  HilVs  Essay  on  Elocution.    12  mo. .full cloth,  320//,  $1.00. 


Copyright,  1884,  by 
Van  Antwerp,  Bragg  &  Co. 


^'rv??^' 


PREFACE 


In  an  experience  extending  over  forty  years,  I  have  been  brought 
to  the  conviction  that  vocal  culture  is  what  is  most  needed  in  the 
stuc  y  of  Elocution ;  for  this  reason,  in  the  present  nfanual  I  have 
forriulated  exercises  adapted  to  the  use  of  classes  in  the  different 
grales  of  the  schools.  The  exercises  are  in  all  cases  in  consonance 
wit  I  nature's  laws.  The  speaking  voice,  by  a  proper  process  of 
trailing,  is  as  capable  of  development  in  strength,  beauty,  and  flex- 
ibil  ty  as  the  singing  voice. 

1  he  rapidity  and  carelessness  of  social  and  business  habit  in 
spe  ;ch,  in  a  great  measure,  cost  us  the  grace  and  beauty  of  our 
Ian  juage  by  depriving  it  of  quantity  and  quality ;  and  slovenliness 
of  iction  in  the  organs  deprives  the  elements  of  the  resonance  be- 
lon  ring  to  their  full  and  correct  utterance.  Mechanical  mincing 
era  nps  the  vowels,   and  deprives  consonants  of  vocal  power. 

The  theory  and  practice  of  a  true  method  should  develop  the 
voc  al  powers,  side  by  side  with  the  growth  of  the  mind,  and  by  the 
time  the  student  has  reached  the  high  schools  and  institutions  of 
ad^  anced  learning,  he  should  be  able  to  deliver  his  essays  and  papers 
wit  h  the  same  proficiency  that  he  displays  in  their  verbal  or  written 
for  n. 

"he  scholar,  in  gaining  control  and  use  of  the  voice  in  the  expres- 
sio  I  of  all  the  emotions,  unconsciously  to  himself,  overcomes  that 
coi  strained,  awkward  bearing,  which  in  many  cases  arises  from  the 
coi  viction  that  he  does  not  know  /lozu  to  do  that  which  is  required 
of  him. 

do  not  consider  that  the  treatment  of  the  subject  in  the  present 
mr  nual  is  an  exhaustive  one.  The  art  is,  it  may  be  said,  in  its 
inl  incy,  and  certain  principles  require  elaboration  which  in  time 
wi  1  be  universally  understood. 

have  made  use  of  the  older  authorities  in  all  cases  where  I  have 

fei:  that  they  are  as  valuable  as  when  first  presented  for  use; — not 

th  It  I  do  not  draw  from  all  sources,  the  modern  as  well  as  those  of 

ea  lier  generations.     It  is  the  student's  business  tp  keep  abreast  of 

(iii) 

258775 


iv  Preface. 


the  times,  and  it  is  a  rare  thing  with  me  to  lay  down  any  work  of 
merit  pertaining  to  my  art  without  having  widened  my  information, 
and  also  having  noted  the  fact  for  future  use. 

I  have  not  attemptefi  an  exposition  of  the  subject-matter  by  the 
use  of  my  own  notations ;  I  have  preferred  those  of  Rush,  and 
others  who  have  followed  his  lead,  inasmuch  as  the  diagrams  given 
are  finely  illustrative  of  the  principles  of  melodic  progression  and 
cadence.  The  emphatic  significance  and  distinctive  enforcement  of 
these  have  never  been  exhaustively  interpreted  and  applied  to  in- 
structive purposes.  They  present  a  well  defined  method  of  eluci- 
dating the  meaning  of  an  author,  and  of  giving  proper  expression 
to  the  sentiment  or  passion  conveyed  in  language. 

The  notations,  in  all  cases,  are  not  to  be  considered  as  the  fixed 
and  determinate  modes  of  utterance;  on  the  contrary,  they  simply 
express  the  notator's  rendering  of  certain  passages ;  and  the  symbols 
employed  are  capable  of  conveying  to  another  the  author's  meaning 
in  the  absence  of  vocal  illustration. 

Gesture  of  face,  hands,  and  figure  must  be  studied  from  standard 
works  on  that  subject,  and  should  in  no  case  be  taught  until  spon- 
taneously at  the  command  of  the  teacher.  In  '■'■  A  Plea  for  Spoken 
Language "  I  have  introduced  Aaron  Hill's  studies  in  expression, 
which  I  recommend  to  all  students  of  Elocution.  This  work  may  be 
considered  as  an  aid  to  '■'■  RusselVs  Vocal  Culture,''''  the  joint  work  of 
Prof.  William  Russell  and  myself,  prepared  at  the  time  that  my 
School  of  Oratory  in  Boston  was  in  operation.  The  methods  of 
Vocal  Drill  employed  were  in  accordance  with  my  studies  in 
anatomy  and  physiology,  and  were  endorsed  by  many  of  the  leading 
physicians  of  Boston,  among  whom  were  Drs.  Humphrey  Storer, 
Winslow  Lewis,   Edward  Reynolds,  and  others. 

Now  that  my  work  in  the  direction  of  general  teaching  is  draw- 
ing to  a  close,  I  dedicate  to  my  daughter,  Mrs.  R.  Murdoch 
Hollingshead,  who  has  been  associated  with  me  in  my  work,  and  to 
the  teachers  of  the  future,  the  work  in  which  I  have  labored  to  sim- 
plify and  make  practical  Dr.  Rush's  '■^Philosophy  of  the  Voice,''^ 
which  I  consider  the  most  complete  system  ever  offered  to  the 
student  of  Elocution. 


James  E.  Murdoch. 


Roadside,"  Cincinnati,  O.,  May  15,  1884. 


CONTENTS 


HA    TER 

I, — Introductory  Outline  of  Principles 
II. — Mechanism  of  the  Voice 

Exercises  in  Breathing 
Exercises  in  Breathing 
The  Catch  Breath  Exercise 

IT!.— Pitch 

r^. — The  Concrete  Movement 

Concrete  Intervals  and  Waves 
Forms  of  Stress  on  the  Concrete 
^ — The  Elements  of  Language 

Table  of  Tonic  Elements 
Table  of  Subtonic  Elements 
Table  of  Atonic   Elements 
VL — Production  of  Tonic  Sounds 
Vl  I.  — Exercises  on  the  Tonic  Elements 
Tables  of  Notation 
Concrete  Intervals 
Discrete  Intervals  . 
Indefinite  Syllables 
/III. — Exercises  on  the  Subtonic  Elements 
Tables  ..... 
I  i. — Exercises  on  the  Atonic  Elements 

Tables    of   Short    Tonics,  Abrupt    Subtonic 

Atonic   Elements 
Division  of  Syllables    . 
i. — Exercises  on  the   Elements  in   Syllabic   Combin 
Tonic  Elements    . 
Subtonic  and  Atonic  Elements 
Words  of  more  than  One  Syllable 
Ariiculative  Exercises  . 
>  I. — Articulation  and  Vocal  Culture 
Words  .... 
Studies  in  Enunciation 
XI. — Implication,  with  Exercises  for  Practice 


(v) 


vi  Contents. 


CHAPTER  PAGB 

XIII.— The  Mode  of  Utterance 127 

XIV.— Quality .         .         .129 

Examples  in  Natural  Quality       .         ,         .         •  I35 

The  Call .         .         .146 

Orotund  Quality 148 

Aspirated  Quality .168 

Guttural  Quality 171 

Pectoral  Quality 175 

Falsetto  Quality 176 

XV. — Practice  on  the  Concrete 178 

Radical  Stress 179 

Final  Stress 183 

Median  Stress 187 

Thorough  Stress 190 

Compound  Stress 191 

The  Loud  Concrete      ......  192 

Tremor 193 

XVI. — Relation  between  Mind  and  Voice    ....  198 

XVII. — Diatonic  Melody 206 

Triad  of  the  Cadence 214 

Full  Cadence 214 

First  Duad 214 

Second  Duad         .         .         .         .         . 

The  Feeble  Cadence 

The  Prepared  Cadence 216 

False  Cadence 217 

Exercises  on  Melodic  Successions         .         .         ,  218 

Exercises  on  the  Phrases  of  Melody   .         .         .  219 

Examples  of  Different  Forms  of  Cadence  .         .  220 

XVIII. — Intonation  at  Pauses  . 222 

Examples  for  Practice           .....  229 

Downward  Movement  in   Diatonic  Melody          .  232 

XIX. — Expressive  Intonation 236 

Wider  Downward  Movements      ....  239 

The  Semitone        •••....  242 

XX. — Uses  of  the  Wave  in  Expression        ....  247 

The  Wave  of  the  Second 250 

The  Unequal  Wave 252 

The  Double  and  Continued  Waves      .         .         .  253 

XXI. — Uses  of  the  Tremor  in  Expression    ....  258 


215 
215 


Contents.      '  vii 


CHAPTER  PAGE 

Exercises  for  Practice 261 

Exercise  in  Laughing       .....  263 

XXII. — Interrogative  Intonation 264 

Rule  I 268 

Rule  II 269 

Rule  III 270 

Rule  IV 271 

Rule  V 272 

Rule  VI 274 

Grammatical    Questions    requiring   Downward 

Intonation 276 

XXIII. — Expressive  Melody ;  Sentential  Pitch;  Transition  in 

Pitch 281 

Sentential  Pitch 283 

Transition  in  Pitch  .         .         .         .         .         .  284 

General  Divisions  in  Pitch        ....  294 

>.'XIV. — Force         .         . 303 

Examples  .         .         .     '    .         .         .         .         .  307 

XXV.— Stress— Radical 315 

::XVI.— Final  Stress 327 

X  XVII. — Median  Stress 332 

XXVIIL— Thorough  Stress 338 

.Compound  Stress 340 

The  Loud  Concrete  .         .         .         .         .         .  341 

Semitone 341 

Tremor      ........  342 

Concluding  Remarks  on  Stress          .         .         .  346 

CXIX. — Time:  Quantity  and  Movement       ....  349 
Quantity    .         .         .         .         .         .         .         -349 

Movement          . 351 

Examples  ........  354 

XXX.— Pauses 364 

Pauses  of  Sense         ......  364 

Pauses  of  Emotion    ......  374 

Exercises 376 

XXXI. — Rhythmus  or  Measure  of  Speech    ....  378 

:XXII. — Accent 396 

X  XXIII.— Emphasis .'        .  .399 

Examples,   classified  ......  414 

>  XXIV. — Interjections  and  Exclamatory  Sentences        .         .  420 


Vlll 


Contents. 


SELECTIONS. 


Eulogy  on  Wendell  Phillips 
The  Character  of  our  Savior 
The  Human  Voice     .... 

Love  of  Change         .... 

Speech  in  the  Knapp  Trial 
Parallel  between  Pope  and  Dryden  . 
Benevolence  and  Charity  . 
Reflections  on  Westminster  Abbey   . 
The  Man  of  Genius  .... 

The  Ampitheatre  of  Titus 

Dialogue  between  King  John  and  Hubert 

Scene  from  '*  The  Iron  Chest  " 

Scene  from  Henry  V     •     . 

Scene  from  Richard  III     . 

Scene  from  Hamlet    .         .         . 

The  Prodigal     .         . 

Select  Passages  from  the  Book  of  Job 

Selections  from  the  Book  of  Isaiah    . 

The  Vision  of  Sir  Launfal 

Extracts  from  "The  Voyage  of  Life 

New  England's  Chevy  Chase     . 

Song  of  the  Greek  Bard     . 

The  Destruction  of  Sennacherib 

Sandalphon        ..... 

The  Ride  of  Collins  Graves 

Crabbed  Age  and  Youth    . 

Antony  and  Cleopatra 

Thomas  Buchanan  Read    . 

Song  from  "  The  Wild  Wagoner  of  the  Allegh 

Dying  in  Harness       .... 

Mary  of  Castle  Cary 

The  Spinning  Wheel  Song  .   ' 

Catawba  Wine  ..... 

The  King  of  Yvetot 

Nearer,  my  God,  to  Thee  . 

A  Hymn    ...... 

A  Safe  Stronghold     .... 


Geo.  Wm.  Curtis. 


Edward 


John 


0.   W.  Holmes. 

Ruskin. 

Daniel  Webster. 

Samuel  Johnson. 

Steele. 

"  Spectator.'''' 

Ruskin. 

Gibbon. 

Shakespeare. 

George  Colman. 

Shakespeare. 

Shakespeare. 

Shakespeare. 

Bible. 

Bible. 

Bible. 

Lowell. 

.  •  Janvier. 

Everett  Hale. 

Byron. 

Byron. 

Longfellow. 

Boyle  O'Reilly. 


Wm.  H.  Lytle. 

.     Janvier. 

anies"  Read. 

John  Boyle  O'Reilly. 

.  Hector  Macneil. 

John  Francis  Waller. 

Longfellow. 

.  Ber anger. 

Sarah  F.  Adams. 

Addison, 

.  Martin  Luther. 


433 

435 
437 
440 

443 
445 
446 

449 

45 » 

452 

454 
455 
457 
459 
461 
464 

465 
468 
469 

472 
476 
478 
481 
481 
483 
485 
488 

489 
490 
491 
492 
493 
494 
496 

497 
498 
499 


ANALYTIC    ELOCUTION. 


Chapter  I. 
Introductory  Outline  of  Principles. 

1.  Spoken  Language  is  employed  to  declare  that 
which  passes  in  the  human  mind  in  its  various  states  and 
con  ditions. 

All  that  passes  in  the  mind  may  be  reduced  to  two 
heads, — ideas  and  emotions.  By  ideas  we  mean  all  simple 
per:eptions  or  thoughts.  By  emotions,  all  the  effects  pro- 
du(  ed  upon  the  mind  by  those  ideas,  including  the  calmer 
fee  ings  or  sentiments  which  result  from  a  stimulation  of 
the  fancy  or  the  imagination,  and  those  states  of  violent 
me  ital  agitation  arising  from  the  excitement  of  the  strong- 
est passions. 

The  speaking  voice  possesses  distinct  means  for  declar- 
ing these  several  states  of  thought,  sentiment,  and  passion 
thr  )ugh  the  varied  employment  of  its  constituent  elements. 

2.  The  two  great  ends  of  elocution,  or  the  study  of 
spc  ken  language  for  artistic  purposes,  are:  (i)  To  improve 
and  develop  the  voice  to  its  fullest  capacity  as  regards 
be;  uty,  power,  and  flexibility.  (2)  To  adapt  it  to  the  cor- 
rect  and  natural  utterance  of  all  thought,  sentiment,  or 
pa^  sion. 

The  two  constantly  react  upon  each  other,  for  in  study- 
ing,  the  vocal  elements  employed  in  the  utterance  of   lan- 

(ix) 


'''}?.''} '': C'**'*  I  j^^Tciojh's  Elocution. 

guage,  their  character,  and  correct  production  by  the 
organs, — the  voice  is  developed,  and  the  ear  and  mind  are 
at  the  same  time  accustomed  to  the  value  of  sounds  in  their 
relation  to  thought  and  passion. 

3.  All  of  the  elements  of  spoken  language,  articulate 
and  expressive,  are  comprehended  under  the  five  follow- 
ing heads,  which  designate  the  five  generic  properties  of 
the  voice:    Pitch,   Quality,   Force,   Abruptness,  and  Time. 

A  study  of  these  five  properties  in  detail,  and  of  the 
multiplied  combinations  of  their  several  forms,  degrees,  and 
varieties,  familiarizes  the  student  with  all  the  articulative 
and  expressive  powers  of  speech. 

4.  Pitch  relates  to  the  variation  of  the  voice  with  re- 
gard to  acuteness  or  gravity,  or  high  and  low,  on  what  is 
termed  in  music  the  scale.  It  is  a  primary  element  of 
effect  and  significance  in  speech,  and  may,  in  all  its  vari- 
eties, be  brought  perfectly  under  the  command  of  the 
organs  for  the  purposes  of  art. 

5.  Quality  is  the  kind  of  voice,  and  is  popularly  desig- 
nated as  7'ough^  smooth,  harsh,  full,  thin,  musical,  etc.  It  is 
here  more  definitely  described  under  the  divisions  of  the 
natural,  the  aspirated,  the  falsetto,  an  improved  quality 
called  the  orotund,  the  pectoral,  and  guttural. 

6.  Force  is  a  term  used  to  designate  the  power, 
energy,  or  intensity  with  which  a  sound  of  the  voice  is 
uttered.  Its  degrees  are  designated  by  the  terms  loud,  soft, 
forcible,  weak,  strong,  feeble,  vehement,  and  moderate.  The 
different  forms  of  its  specific  application  are  exhibited  in 
what  is  called  stress,  or  the  application  of  force  to  certain 
parts  or  to  the  whole  of  the  extent  of  a  syllable. 

7.  Abruptness  is  the  suddenness,  combined  with  (a 
greater  or  less  degree  of)  fullness,  with  which  every 
syllabic  sound  may  be  opened.  It  may  vary  from  the 
most  delicate,  but  clear  opening  of  a  syllable,  to  its  most 
violent  or  forcible  explosion. 


Outline  of  Principles.  1 1 


8.  Time  is  the  duration  or  measure  of  sound.  With 
re^^rd  to  individual  syllables,  it  is  called  quantity,  and 
mtans  the  duration  of  sound  heard  on  each, — as  the  long 
qumtity  or  short  quantity  of  a  syllable.  When  the  simple 
term  quantity  is  employed,  long  quantity  is  understood. 

Time  also  relates  to  the  rapidity  or  slowness  of  utter- 
ance in  the  succession  of  any  series  or  aggregate  of  words. 
Thus,  a  sentence  is  said  to  be  uttered  in  quick,  slow,  or 
moderate  time. 

Time  has  relation,  also,  to  pauses,  either  between  words 
or  groups  of  words;  also,  to  rhythmus,  or  the  musical 
m  jasure  of  speech. 

9.  Elocution  may  then  be  defined  as  the  art  of  so  em- 
pbying  the  Quality,  Pitch,  Force,  Time,  and  Abruptness 
of  the  voice  as  to  convey  the  sense,  sentiment,  and  passion 
of  composition  or  discourse  in  the  fullest  and  most  natural 
m  inner,  and  at  the  same  time  with  the  greatest  possible 
giatification  to  the  ear. 

The  first  acquisition  of  the  student  in  the  order  of  sys- 
tematic study,  must  be  a  knowledge  and  control  of  the 
voice-producing  mechanism.  The  next,  a  similar  knowl- 
edge and  mastery  of  the  vocal  elements  as  elements,  pre- 
v  ous  to  any  attempt  to  execute  their  more  difficult  com- 
b  nations  in  the  consecutive  utterances  of  language. 


Chapter  II. 

Mechanism  of  the  Voice  Considered  in  its  Practical  Relations  to 
Vocal  Culture. 

lo.  The  organic  production  of  voice  naturally  invites 
our  attention  first;  but  the  details  are  too  extensive  and 
too  minute  to  warrant  my  here  entering  upon  them  spe- 
cifically, and  belong  more  properly  to  the  domain  of 
Anatomy  and  Physiology.  I  will  present,  however,  a  very 
brief  outline  of  the  process  by  which  the  breath  of  life  is 
digested  into  sound  and  articulate  speech, — thus  becoming 
audible  soul,  endowed  with  the  power  of  generating 
thought  and  feeling,  and  creating  the  visible  results  of 
action. 

The  production  of  all  vocal  sound  requires,  in  the  first 
place,  a  full  supply  of  the  primary  element  of  vocality, 
atmospheric  air,  to  be  taken  in  by  the  respiratory  organs, 
and  then  furnished  to  the  vocal  apparatus.  By  muscular 
expansion  and  contraction,  a  certain  quantity  of  blood,  at 
each  pulsation  of  the  heart,  is  carried  to  the  lungs,  and 
there  vitalized  by  the  oxygen  contained  in  the  air.  This 
air  passes  from  the  mouth  to  the  trachea,  or  wind-pipe, 
through  the  glottis  and  larynx,  and  thence  through  the 
bronchial  tubes  to  the  minute  air-cells  of  the  lungs.  Hav- 
ing there  performed  its  life-giving  function,  it.  passes  out 
through  the  same  organs  in  a  decomposed  state,  and  it  is 
this  seemingly  useless  breath,  which,  in  its  passage  to  the 
outer  air,  constitutes  the  material  for  the  formation  of  that 
glorious  gift,   the  human  voice. 

(12) 


Mechanism  of  the    Voice.  13 


11.  The  acts  of  Inspiration  and  Expiration,  together  con- 
stituting respiration,  or  breathing,  which  alternately  fill  and 
em])ty  the  minute  cells  of  the  lungs,  are  mainly  impelled  by 
the  muscles  of  the  abdomen,  acting  upon  the  more  imme- 
diate agent  of  the  breathing  process  called  the  Diaphragm, 
a  very  strong  muscle,  arched  in  shape,  upon  which  the 
lunijs  rest,  and  which  forms  a  partition  between  them  and 
the  abdominal  organs.  The  arch  of  this  muscle  contracts 
in  nspiration,  pressing  the  abdominal  organs  downward 
and  outward,  and  thus  making  room  for  the  increased 
body  of  the  inflated  lungs.  In  expiration,  the  muscle 
recovers  its  former  position,  thus  pushing  or  pressing 
aga  nst  the  lungs,  and  driving  the  air  out.  It  has  been 
figuratively  termed  the  belloivs  of   the  vocal  organs. 

1 2.  A  specific  muscular  action,  involving  many  compli- 
catijns,  produces  an  elevation  and  expansion  of  that  cage- 
like structure,  composed  of  the  ribs  and  breast-bone,  which 
con;ains  the  lungs,  in  order  that  those  spongy  bodies,  when 
filled  to  their  utmost  capacity  with  the  inspired  air,  may  be 
accommodated  with  corresponding  room. 

'1  he  contraction  and  expansion  of  the  muscles  of  the  chest, 
acting  in  sympathy  with  those  of  the  abdomen  and  dia- 
phr  igm,  control  the  movements  of  respiration,  which  are  in- 
voluntary in  the  mere  act  of  breathing,  but  comparatively 
voluntary  in  expelling  the  air  in  the  different  forms  of  vocal- 
ity  md  articulated  aspiration. 

13.  The  Larynx  is  composed  of  a  number  of  different 
car  ilages,  attached  together  by  muscles,  and  forms  a  con- 
tinuation to  the  tube  of  the  trachea.  It  communicates 
wit  1  the  throat  by  the  glottis,  a  small  membranous  or  mus- 
cul  ir  fissure,  the  edges  of  which  constitute  the  vocal 
ch(  rds  or  lips  of  the  glottis.  The  glottis  is  sometimes  called 
the  mouth  of  the  larynx,  or  inner  mouth.  The  glottis 
ma/-  be  opened  or  closed  at  will,  except  in  coughing  or 
sneezing,  when  its  muscles  obey  the  nerves  of  respiration. 


14  MiirdocJis  Elocution. 

When  the  breath  is  forced  out  by  an  act  of  volition, 
through  the  aperture  of  the  glottis,  without  agitating  the 
vocal  chords,  there  is  no  vocality,  only  an  audible  sound 
of  hard  breathing  or  aspiration. 

But  when  the  chords  are  more  or  less  moved  by  the 
air  expelled,  and  thrown  into  vibration,  vocal  sound  is 
produced.  The  sound  thus  produced  by  the  vibration  of 
this  delicate  muscular  organism  of  the  vocal  chords,  fills 
the  sonorous  cavern  at  the  back  part  of  the  mouth  called 
the  Pharynx,  and  reverberating  through  the  cavities  of 
the  head  and  chest,  and  striking  against  the  sounding- 
board,  as  it  may  be  termed,  of  the  roof  of  the  mouth,  at 
last  issues  from  the  lips  a  perfected  result  of  nature's 
handiwork,  to  be  made  as  plastic  as  the  potter's  clay,  and 
shaped  to  the  various  purposes  of  use  and  beauty  in 
language. 

14.  The  entire  apparatus  of  human  speech  may  be 
divided  into  two  classes  of  organs.  These  are:  (i)  The 
Vocal  organs,  or  those  portions  of  the  organic  system  em- 
ployed in  the  production,  admeasurement,  and  variation 
of  voluntary,  tunable  sounds.  These  are  common  to  man 
and  to  the  lower  animals.  (2)  Articulative  organs,  or  those 
portions  and  members  of  the  mouth  and  larynx  by  which 
we  superadd  to  the  tunable  impulses  of  sound,  the  phe- 
nomena of  elemental  and  verbal  utterance,  and  which  are 
peculiar  to  the  human  species. 

Spoken  language  is  the  result  of  the  consentaneous 
action  of  the  vocal  and  the  articulative  organs.  Independ- 
ently of  the  lower  jaw,  whose  motions  contribute  to  dis- 
tinct utterance,  and  the  nasal  passages,  the  articulative 
organs  are  six  in  number.  Four  of  them  are  active;  viz., 
the  tongue,  the  uvula,  the  lips  of  the  mouth,  and  the  lips 
of  the  glottis,  or  vocal  chords, — the  last  belonging  to  both 
the  vocal  and  articulative  organs.  Two  are  passive;  viz., 
the  front  teeth  and  the  gums. 


Mechanism  of  the    Voice.  '15 

jfj.  The  thoughts,  emotions,  and  passions  of  the  human 
beirg  acting  upon  the  organic  mechanism  of  the  breath, 
of  /ocahty,  and  of  enunciation,  excite  each  to  method 
and  force  of  action;  and  those  sounds  of  the  voice  are 
produced  peculiar  in  form  and  duration,  altitude  or  de- 
pression, force  or  softness,  in  their  varied  degrees,  to  the 
thoi  ght,   emotion,  or  passion  to  be  expressed. 

It).  If  speech  be  regulated  by  a  knowledge  of  the 
stru:ture  and  functions  of  the  organs  which  it  employs, 
and  of  their  relation  to  other  parts  of  the  body  according 
to  the  laws  of  exercise  and  rest,  there  never  can  be  any 
inconvenience  for  want  of  breath,  any  straining  of  the 
voice,  any  bronchial  or  pulmonary  irritations  resulting  from 
eve  1  their  most  active  and  energetic  exercise.  A  true 
system  of  vocal  culture  must  be  based  upon  such  knowl- 
edge, and  comprehend  a  consequently  intelligent  training 
of  ;he  muscles  of  the  voice-making  mechanism,  with  a 
y\^\j  to  voluntarily  exercise  and  energize  the  functions  of 
eacli;  and  it  must  advance  by  degrees  until  the  student 
can  trust  this  mechanism  to  perform  whatever  labor  he 
imposes  without  conscious  volition,  but  through  a  subtle 
syn  pathy  with,  rather  than  an  order  from  the  brain. 

17.  It  is  not  necessary,  though  it  is  desirable,  to  under- 
star  d  the  anatomy  and  physiology  of  the  organs  in  minute 
det;.il,  but  the  student  must  at  least  know  and  realize  what 
org;Lns  produce  or  directly  influence  important  vocal 
effe  :ts.* 


*  A  knowledge  of  the  anatomy  and  physiology  of  the  entire 
vocr  1  mechanism,  however,  can  not  be  too  accurate  and  compre- 
hen  ive  in  the  case  of  those  who  undertake  to  teach  the  subject 
of  I  locution.  For  such  knowledge,  the  teacher  is  referred  to  books 
and  lectures  devoted  exclusively  to  the  anatomy  and  physiology  of 
the  ^oice.  For  plates  and  description  of  vocal  organs,  see  "Vocal 
Cul  ure,"  by  Rev.   Francis  T.   Russell. 


1 6*  MurdocJi  s  Elocution. 

The  general  advantages  of  correct  vocal  exercises,  or, 
as  they  are  sometimes  termed,  "vocal  gymnastics,"  when 
properly  exercised  and  judiciously  graduated  to  the  phys- 
ical strength  of  the  student,  may  be  enumerated  as  fol- 
lows: 

(i)  They  give  vitality  to  the  whole  system  by  expanding, 
through  the  means  of  regulated  and  thorough  inspirations, 
the  entire  body  of  the  lungs,  giving  increased  breadth  to 
the  surface  of  the  interior  lining  of  the  air-cells  containing 
the  delicate  veins  through  which  the  blood  flows  in  its 
subjection  to  the  vitalizing  operations  of  aeration. 

(2)  They  impart  vigor,  and  consequent  power  of  endur- 
ance, to  the  muscles  of  the  abdomen,  diaphragm,  and  the 
other  sympathetic  muscular  powers;  it  is  to  the  disci- 
plined activity  of  these  muscles  we  owe  the  strength, 
volume,  and  qualities  of  voice  required  in  all  artistic 
expression. 

(3)  As  the  crowning  advantage  of  proper  vocal  train- 
ing, the  muscles  comprehended  in  the  delicate  organism 
of  the  larynx,  glottis,  and  throat,  are  kept  in  health  and 
vigor  for  the  discharge  of  their  important  part  in  the  pro- 
duction of  voice,  and  above  all  are  rendered  pliant  to  the 
will, — to  the  full  possibilities  of  force  and  beauty  in  the 
utterance  of  language. 


Exercises  in  Breathing. 

18.  As  all  vocality,  from  the  instinctive  cry  of  the  infant 
to  the  most  extended  effort  of  the  developed  voice,  is  so 
inseparably  connected  with  respiration,  it  is  to  the  opera- 
tions of  breathing  alone,  in  its  gentler  and  more  aspirated 
forms,  that  our  attention  and  practice  toward  acquiring  an 
educated  control  of  the  muscles  governing  voice-production 
will  be   first   directed.     As   preparatory,    however,   to   the 


Mechanism  of  the    Voice.  17 

special  training  involved  in  these  and  succeeding  exercises, 
I  would  suggest  that  those  physical  exercises  compre- 
heiided  under  the  head  of  gymnastics  and  calisthenics, 
would,  if  practiced  in  moderation,  be  invaluable  to  the 
student  in  giving  tone  and  elasticity  to  the  general  sys- 
teri.* 

1 1)  Let  the  student  stand  in  a  perfectly  easy  position, 
upDn  either  the  right  or  left  foot,  the  other  slightly  in 
ad/ance,  the  arms  folded  at  the  back,  which  position  de- 
presses the  shoulders  naturally,  and  gives  all  the  expansion, 
or  elevation,  as  it  is  sometimes  termed,  necessary  to  the 
fullest  possible  action  of  the  chest;  the  weight  of  the  body 
mt  y  be  allowed  to  fall  on  the  other  foot,  as  the  student 
grows  stiff  or  in  the  least  degree  weary,  f  In  this  per- 
fe(  tly  easy  attitude,  fill  the  lungs  by  deep,  full  inspiration, 
and  then  expire  slowly  with  slight  force.  Repeat  four  or 
five  times. 

Phis  exercise  is  merely  an  exemplification  of  natural 
br  jathing,  slightly  exaggerated,  as  it  would  be  by  the 
necessities  of  energetic  or  impassioned  utterance.  The 
sti  dent's  attention  should  here  be  directed  to  the  muscular 
ph  enomena  which  are  exhibited  in  replenishing  and  exhaust- 
in:;  the  lungs".  When  the  breath  is  comparatively  exhausted, 
th  ;re    is    a    necessity    for    a    full    inspiration    to   refill    the 


*I  would  suggest  the  moderate  use  of  light  dumb-bells,  or  light 
In  lian  clubs,  as  an  excellent  means  of  properly  exercising  the  mus- 
cle s  of  the  arms  and  chest.  These  may  be  used  with  advantage 
be  ore  the  breathing  exercises. 

tThe  direction  sometimes  given  to  "  hold  up  the  chest,"  '« elevate 
th  ;  sternum  and  ribs,"  etc.,  as  a  special  advantage  in  the  service 
of  breathing  and  speech,  and  as  preparatory  to  their  exercises,  is  a 
gr  vtuitous  injunction,  because,  when  we  inhale  fully,  the  breast- 
be  le  and  ribs  rise  naturally,  and  of  necessity,  and  gradually 
ex  )and  the  cavity  of  the  chest  sufficiently  to  accommodate  the 
gr  idually  enlarging  volume  of  the  lungs. 
M.  E.— 2. 


1 8  Murdoch's  Elocution. 

emptied  air-cells,  which  will  be  speedily  complied  with  if 
no  obstruction  is  offered  to  prevent  the  operation  of  the 
natural  function  of  the  lungs,  the  air  being  sucked  in,  as  it 
were,  by  the  action  of  the  organs.* 

(2)  To  realize  the  full  force  of  the  respiratory  process, 
the  lungs  must  be  comparatively  emptied  by  a  special  act 
of  the  will.  The  act  of  refilling  them  arises  from  ne- 
cessity, and  is  of  a  marked  and  instantaneous  character. 
Such  is  the  peculiar  form  of  respiration  by  which  the 
student  can  best  be  made  to  perceive  and  understand  the 
degrees  of  difference  between  natural,  easy  breathing, 
under  ordinary  circumstances,  and  that  degree  of  muscular 
exertion  in  inspiration  and  expiration  necessary  for  the 
efforts  of  speech.  Let  him  repeat  the  exercises  until  he  is 
made  fully  conscious  of  the  expansion  of  the  chest,  the 
rise  and  fall  of  the  ribs,  together  with  the  contraction  and 
extension  of  the  muscles  of  the  abdomen  and  of  the  dia- 
phragm, all  of  which  movements  are  attendant  upon  the 
respiratory  process. 

The  greater  indraughts  of  air  will  call  into  play  in  pro- 
portion to  the  increased  effort  additional  muscles  of  the 
back  and  other  parts,  the  position  of  which  will  be  indi- 
cated by  the  action. 

(3)  Draw  a  full,  deep  inspiration,  and  then  effuse  the 
breath  in  the  slow  and  distinctly  audible  breathing  ex- 
hibited in  the  sustained  expiration  of  a  deep  sigh.f  When 
the  lungs  are  apparently  emptied,  after  a  brief  pause  inhale 


*The  mistake  is  often  made  of  supposing  that  the  atmospheric 
pressure  from  without  will  fill  the  lungs  if  the  mouth  is  merely 
held  open.  As  a  proof  of  this,  consider  the  means  for  resuscitating 
one  who  has  been  drowned. 

t  Let  it  be  understood  that  the  lungs  are  never  entirely  emptied 
or  exhausted  of  air,  as  only  a  certain  proportion  of  their  contents 
are  subject  to  the  will. 


Mechanism  of  the   Voice. 


again,  and  repeat  the  above  mentioned  movement  three  or 
foir  times,  until  the  gradual  effusion  of  breath  is  marked 
b}  the  same  lengthened  smoothness  and  equable  flow  as  that 
of  the  silent  expiration, — which  result  is  the  object  of  the 
exercise. 

Further  Exercises  in  Breathing. 

(4)  In  the  same  position  as  before  indicated,  take  the 
breath  deliberately  and  steadily;  after  a  full  inspiration  is 
atained,  let  it  be  given  out  slowly  in  a  steadily  but  gently 
efused  and  whispered  expiration  of  the  element  h,  which 
is  a  simple  breathing  sound.  Let  this  be  sustained  until 
al  the  air  in  the  lungs  is  exhausted.  In  this  and  the  fol- 
io A^ing  exercises,  the  aspiration  must  come,  as  it  were,  from 
the  very  depths  of  the  throat. 

(5)  Let  as  much  breath  be  drawn  in  as  the  lungs  can 
easily  contain,  then  send  it  forth  in  an  equable  flow,  in 
the  form  of  a  gentle,  breathing  whisper  of  the  syllable 
hi,  the  mouth  slightly  open,  the  corners  drawn  back. 
Tiis  should  be  repeated  several  times,  until  the  student 
Cc  n  sustain  a  comparatively  full  expiration  on  a  deliberate 
ai  d  unbroken  effusion  of  breath,  free  from  all  jerking  and 
unsteadiness,  in  a  gentle,  but  distinctly  audible  breathing 
w  lisper. 

(6)  Draw  in  the  breath  as  before,  and  emit  it  with  a 
s(  mewhat  forcible,  expulsive,  whispered  breathing  of  the 
s\  liable  hah,  the  mouth  moderately  open,  the  lips  slightly 
r(  unded.  After  a  moderate  prolongation  of  the  expulsive 
f(  rm,  let  the  whispering  sound  vanish  gently,  so  to  speak, 
ii    the  bottom  of  the  throat. 

(7)  Inspire  freely,  aTid  after  a  momentary  pause  expel 
tl  e  air  suddenly,  with  a  sudden  or  explosive  breathing, 
whispered  utterance  on  the  syllable  haw,  the  mouth  wide 
0  Den,  and  the  aspirated  sound  coming  from  the  very  depths 


20  Murdoch! s  Elocution. 

of  the  throat.  Prolong  the  vanishing  sound  in  this  exer- 
cise as  long  as  possible,  without  distressing  the  parts. 
Care  must  be  taken  to  maintain  the  aspirated  form  of  ex- 
piration free  from  any  vocality.  By  this  process,  nearly 
all  the  air  contained  in  the  lungs  is  forcibly  driven  out,  and 
in  the  repetitions  of  it  the  student  must  use  his  judgment, 
remembering  that  the  process  is  more  exhausting  to  the 
lungs  than  that  in  the  preceding  exercises. 
.  (8)  Inhale  fully,  and  then,  after  a  momentary  pause, 
give  out  the  breath  of  this  one  inspiration  in  three  suc- 
cessive and  distinct  breathing,  whispered  utterances  of  the 
three  syllables,  he,  hah,  haw,  in  the  manner  before  as- 
signed to  each.  There  must  be  a  momentary  pause  be- 
tween each  by  holding  the  breath;  /*.  c,  arresting  the 
action  of  the  diaphragm. 

(9)  After  a  full  inspiration,  let  the  breath  be  effused 
in  three  successive  gentle  effusions  on  the  syllable  he^ 
giving  to  each  an  equal  share  of  the  one  inspiration,  fol- 
lowing the  same  directions  concerning  momentary  pause, 
as  in  the  preceding. 

(10)  Again,  let  a  full  inspiration  be  taken,  and  the  same 
process  as  above  repeated  on  the  syllable  hah,  with  in- 
creased expulsive  force. 

(11)  After  full  inspiration,  let  the  breath  be  given  out, 
following  the  same  directions  on  the  three  explosive  whis- 
pered utterances  of  the  syllable  haw. 

19.  In  the  repetition  for  practice  of  10  and  11,  the  ex- 
pulsive force  and  explosive  abruptness  represented  in  each 
should  be  gradually  increased. 

The  above  exercises  should  be  conducted  by  the  teacher 
in  the  following  manner : 

The  teacher,  holding  up  his  open  hand,  counts,  dehb- 
erately,  one,  two,  three.  The  pupil  having  taken  breath 
during  the  counting  of  the  teacher,  gives  the  first  sound, 
he. 


Mechanism  of  the    Voice.  21 


The  teacher  counts,  with  hand  raised,  one,  two,  three, 
thi  pupil  breathing  and  repeating  the  second  sound  three 
til  les  to  one  expiration,  thus :    hah,  hah,  hah. 

The  teacher  counts  again,  one,  two,  and  three;  his 
hand  gradually  falls  from  its  upright  position  to  his  side, 
while  the  pupil  gives  forth  the  enlarged  volume  of  air 
from  the  lungs,  when  fully  inflated,  on  the  explosive, 
haw. 

All  of  the  exercises  must  be  graduated  as  to  their  force, 
til  lie  of  duration,  and  frequency  of  repetition,  to  the  capacity 
ai  d  comfort  of  the  student.  Ordinarily,  four  or  five  repeti- 
tions of  each  at  a  time  will  be  sufficient  at  first,  pausing 
aid  breathing  in  the  ordinary  way  for  a  few  moments  be- 
tv\een  each  to  avoid  the  dizziness  which  results  from  too 
ocessive  and  rapid  respiration.  The  exercises  may  be 
pjacticed  with  benefit  to  the  health  four  or  five  times 
d;.ily,  even  by  those  who  do  not  pursue  their  application 
to  the  purposes  of  artistic  speech. 

The  more  forcible  of  these  exercises  will  further  discip- 
li  le  the  respiratory  muscles,  and  strengthen  them  for  a 
fi  ture  vigorous  expulsion  or  explosion  of  the  breath  in  the 
u  terance  of  the  successive  syllables  of  language,  or  in 
tl  rowing  the  entire  force  of  one  expiration  on  the .  em- 
p  latic  syllable  of  some  one  important  word.  The  practice 
o  1  the  first  or  effusive  form  of  breathing  is  calculated  not 
o  ily  to  strengthen  the  muscles,  but  to  habituate  the  lungs 
t(  a  regulated  and  measured  action,  and  to  place  the 
g  mtle,  gradual,  and  sustained  effusion  of  breath  at  the 
c  )mmand  of  the  will  for  the  perfect  utterance  of  the 
fi'm  and  steady  tones  indicative  of  a  reposeful  state  of 
n  ind. 

The  effusive  breath  may  be  said  to  flow,  the  expulsive  to 
r  csh,  and  the  explosive  to  burst  into  the  outer  air.  These 
t  iree  forms  of  breathing,  it  will  be  found,  when  converted 
i  ito   vocality,    represent   the    three    forms    which    language 


2  2  Murdoch's  Elocutioji. 

assumes  in  its  varied  utterance  from  tranquillity  to  pas- 
sion. 

20.  We  are  now  prepared  to  see  the  relations  between 
the  act  of  breathing  and  articulate  speech;  how,  by  acquir- 
ing a  perfect  control  over  the  muscles  of  respiration,  we 
may  deal  out  the  breath  in  a  continuous  stream,  or  break 
it  into  portions,  and  divide  it  with  accuracy  among  a  suc- 
cession of  syllables. 

(i)  Let  each  of  the  preceding  forms  of  aspiration  be 
given  with  vocality,  following  precisely  the  same  directions 
as  to  method  of  proceeding. 

(2)  The  exercise  given  below  will  enable  the  student  to 
sustain  his  tones  firmly  through  one  expiration;  they  are 
not  speech  tones,  nor  are  they  song, — the  latter  they  re- 
semble in  continuity  only.  By  gaining  a  steady  control  of 
the  diaphragm,  the  tones  issuing  from  the  larynx  will  be- 
come firm,  round,  and,  in  time,  clear.  This  is  essentially 
a  vocal  gymnastic!  exercise  to  give  strength  to  the  tone- 
producing  organs. 

(3)  After  deep  inspiration,  taken  while  the  teacher  slowly 
counts  one,  two,  three,  let  the  student  sound  the  long  tonic 
a,  holding  it  as  long  as  it  remains  firm  and  round;  when  it 
becomes  weak  and  vibratory,  stop  it  at  once,  then  in  the 
same  manner  hold  e,  i,  o,  and  u.  If,  in  the  beginning  of 
his  practice,  the  pupil  can  hold  a  tone  ten  or  fifteen 
seconds,  he  is  doing  well;  but  gradually  he  will  be  able 
to  extend  the  tone  to  thirty,  forty,  and  even  sixty 
seconds.  After  some  time,  the  exercise  can  be  given  with 
a  view  to  the  opening  of  the  radical,  which  gives  purity 
to  the  tone,  and  it  can  also  be  given  as  a  practice  in 
pitch. 

(4)  Another  excellent  exercise  consists  in  filling  the 
lungs,  and  then  repeating  the  vowels  &,  €,  !,  6,  li,  as  many 
times  as  possible  to  one  expiration. 


Mechanism  of  the    Voice,  23 


The  Catch  Breath  Exercise. 

21.  The  following  exercise  is  to  cultivate  the  habit  of 
taking  the  breath  quickly  and  inaudibly,  with  deep  inspira- 
tion at  the  short  pauses  of  consecutive  utterance,  and  to 
economize  the  breath  in  apportioning  it  to  words. 

(i)  Inspire  fully  but  inaudibly.  Then  count  one — two — 
three  [take  short  breath]  four— five — six  [inspire  quickly] 
se7'en — eight — nine^   etc.,   etc. 

(2)  Inspire,  and  count  in  the  same  manner  in  groups  of 
fi\e  numerals,  taking  breath  quickly  between  the  groups. 
Ir  spire,  count  in  groups  of  ten,  and  so  on  until  twenty 
ard  thirty  may  be  counted  easily  at  one  breath,  the 
St  ident  gradually  accustoming  himself  to  use  no  more 
bieath  in  the  utterance  of  each  word  than  is  actually 
necessary. 

The  short  breaths  are  simply  an  indrawing  of  the  air 
contained  in  the  mouth,  the  outer  air  rushing  in  to  take 
it;  place.  Increased  exertion  or  force  of  utterance  of 
course  demands  deeper  indraughts  and  more  frequent 
SI  pplies. 

This  exercise,  besides  teaching  the  economy  of  breath, 
\\ill  place  under  the  control  of  the  will  a  habit  of  nature 
ii  our  ordinary  use  of  the  voice,  for  slight  observation 
will  show  us  that  in  speaking  naturally  we  do  not  wait 
uitil  the  breath  is  entirely  exhausted  to  restore  it  all  at 
oQce  with  one  deep  inspiration,  but  take  every  oppor- 
t  mity  to  replenish  the  constant  waste  by  quick  indraughts 
t  etween  groups  of  words,  where  the  language  will  best 
allow  of  it,  without  retarding  the  utterance  or  disrupting 
t  le  sense.  In  this  way  the  organs  work  without  fatigue, 
i  )r,  the  waste  being  constantly  restored,  they  are  never 
^athout  a  sufficient  supply  for  their  needs.  The  breath 
Must  be  renewed  at  every  pause  of   any   duration,  in  the 


24  Murdoch' s  Elocution. 

form  of  deep,  easy  breathing,  unless  the  excitement  of 
emotion  causes  panting  or  sighing,  when  a  short,  jerky 
movement  becomes  necessary. 

Inspiration  should  be  darried  on  as  much  as  possible 
through  the  nose,  and  with  closed  lips;  this,  however,  in 
the  hurried  action  of   speech,  can  not  always  be  done. 

22.  The  acts  of  gasping  and  panting  are  more  violent 
forms  of  aspirated  breath,  excited  by  nature  to  restore  her 
disturbed  equilibrium  attendant  upon  the  irregular  or  sus- 
pended respiration  which  accompanies  extreme  excitement 
or  undue  physical  exertion.  Sighing  deeply,  and  groan- 
ing, are  also  efforts  of  nature  to  restore  her  equilibrium 
when  her  natural  breathing  has  been  disturbed  or  sus- 
pended by  extreme  suffering,  grief,  or  other  mental  excite- 
ment. They  are  produced  by  taking  large  gulps  of  air 
into  the  lungs,  and  then,  by  suppressed  muscular  effort, 
forcing  the  breath  out  in  a  continuous  stream,  which,  com- 
ing in  contact  with  the  vocal  chords  without  exciting  them 
to  full  vibration,  passes  out  of  the  aperture  of  the  mouth 
with  a  hard  breathing  sound,  mixed  with  suppressed  vo- 
cality,  expressive  of  a  distressed  state  of  the  mind.  It 
will  thus  be  seen  that  they  serve  a  double  purpose,  in  the 
preservation  of  life  and  the  expression  of  the  feelings. 
An  imitation  of  these  natural  acts  as  an  occasional  prac- 
tice will  also  be  of  great  advantage  to  the  student,  not 
only  as  serving  to  assist  art  but  to  invigorate  nature. 

23.  In  the  complicated  web-work  of  diaphragm,  abdom- 
inal, chest,  clavicular,  dorsal,  and  other  muscles  which 
serve  as  the  motive  power  for  respiration  in  its  various 
forms  and  degrees,  from  tranquil  to  violent,  and  in  con- 
tinued or  disjointed  currents  of  breath,  the  will,  by  a  sep- 
arate volition,  can  not  properly  produce  any  individual 
action  on  the  part  of  any  particular  set  of  muscles  inde- 
pendently or  in  advance  of  any  other  set  involved  in  the 
general  act,     They  must  all  work  together  by  a  combined 


Mechanism  of  the    Voice.  25 

ac;ion  involving  the  separate  agencies  in  an  almost  con- 
sentaneous movement  for  one  general  result.  The  same  is 
true  of  the  complex  organic  action  by  which  the  breath  is 
converted  into  syllabic  sound,  involving  the  further  agency 
of  the  muscles  of  the  glottis,  etc. 

To  enforce  this  idea  by  an  example :  the  direction  is 
sonetimes  given  to  *'hold  the  chest  up"  by  a  special  act 
of  volition,  in  order  to  enlarge  its  cavity  for  the  indraughts 
of  air.  The  effort  to  do  this  burdens  the  mind  with  an 
ur  necessary  precaution,  and  lessens  the  powers  of  vocal 
production.  The  act  of  raising  the  shoulders,  therefore, 
drawing  up  the  chest,  and  subsequently  dropping  them,  in 
tha  forcible  utterance  of  speech,  is  an  unnatural  and  in- 
jurious habit,  arising  from  this  false  idea  of  assisting 
nature,  by  a  special  effort  of  the  will,  to  control  any  one 
of  the  co-ordinated  actions  of  her  complete  mechanism.*- 
B  It  those  habits  of  breathing  and  speech,  based  upon  a. 
practice  by  which  the  organs  are  exercised  in  their  normal 
functions,  will  call  into  proper  action  all  the  necessary 
agencies  of  sound  production,  and  develop  the  vocal 
powers  in  accordance  with  natural  law.  The  will  must  be 
exerted  with  the  object  of  producing  cetiain  effects  or  sounds 
of  a  certain  kind,  and  for  an  explicit  purpose;  and  the 
d  aphragm,  the  abdominal  muscles,  the  intercostals,  and 
o  hers,  will,  by  the  sympathetic  action  of  which  we  have 
sjioken,  conjointly  and  efficiently  supply  the  necessary 
n  otive  power,  no  one  set  of  these  muscles  waiting  for  or 
re  quiring -a  special  act  of  volition  to  cause  it  to  perform  its 
ii  dividual  office  in  the  general  act. 


■■'■■  Lennox  Browne  has  recently  written  a  treatise  on  voice  produc- 
tion, in  which  he  draws  particular  attention  to  the  false  methods 
o  breathing,  used  in  many  of  the  music  scho©ls»  and  proves  con- 
c  usively  that  the  diaphragmatic  or  deep  biea.tl:^i>§  is  iLe.  only 
f(  rm  that  is  satisfactory  in  its  results. 
M.  E.— 3. 


26 


Murdoch's  Elocution. 


24.  I  would  recommend,  in  connection  with  breathing, 
some  particular  exercises  in  walking,  pacing,  striding,  and 
running.  Also,  using  the  arms  in  all  the  movements  from 
graceful  to  forcible;  /'.  ^.,  from  sweeps  to  direct  strokes, 
upward  and  downward,  with  varying  degrees  of  force. 
The  movements  should  be  in  accordance  with  the  swell 
and  stroke  of  vocal  action  in  expulsion,  explosion,  and 
effusion,   voice  and  action  keeping  time  together. 


Chapter  III. 
Pitch. 

25.  The  most  elementary  knowledge  of  music  will  serve 
to  explain  the  technical  terms  common  to  this  science,  and 
tha;  of  speech,  and  also  to  aid  the  student  to  an  under- 
standing of  the  similarities  and  differences  of  their  applica- 
tion in  each,  necessary  to  a  correct  apprehension  of  their 
emDloyment  in  the  latter. 

In  the  musical  scale,  the  progressions  or  variations 
thr  )ugh  pitch  are  effec.ted  by  a  series  of  skipping  or  dis- 
cor  nected  sounds,  called  discrete  intervals,  which  may  be 
individually  prolonged  at  will  upon  a  level  line;  i.  e.,  at 
ont;  point  of  the  scale,  the  sound  neither  rising  nor  falling 
in  pitch. 

()n  the  scale,  the  intervals  between  the  first  and  second, 
second  and  third,  fourth  and  fifth,  fifth  and  sixth  sounds 
art  full  tones.  The  distances  between  the  third  and 
foi  rth,  seventh  and  eighth,  are  half-tones,  or  semitones. 
The  intervals  take  their  degree  from  these  changes  in  the 
po  ition  of  the  notes,  thus :  from  the  first  to  the  third,  or 
frtm  c  to  (?,  on  the  piano-forte,  is  a  discrete  interval  of 
a    hird. 

But  variation  in  pitch  may  be  produced  in  another  way; 
e.  ^.,  if  the  finger  be  moved  with  continued  pressure  along 
th^  string  of  a  violin,  from  its  lower  attachment,  upward 
or  downward,  while  the  bow  is  drawn,  a  mewing  sound  will 
be  heard.  The  sound  thus  produced  will  be  continuous, 
and  will  end  at  either  a  higher  or  lower  pitch  than  that  at 

(27) 


28  MurdocJi  s  Elocution, 


which  it  began,  according  as  the  finger  is  slid  upward  or 
downward.  The  effect  upon  the  ear  will  be  that  of  an 
uninterrupted  sound,  gliding  from  gravity  to  acuteness,  or 
the  reverse.  This,  on  the  violin,  is  called  a  slide,  and  is 
produced  by  a  succession  of  changes  in  pitch  so  rapid  as 
not  to  be  separately  discerned  by  the  ear,  and  hence  the 
result  of  one  unbroken  impulse  of  sound. 

In  the  speaking  voice,  change  of  pitch,  in  the  manner 
just  described,  is  effected  in  the  utterance  of  every  syllable 
through  some  interval  of  the  scale,  and  called  a  concrete 
interval.* 

26.  The  speaking  voice  performs  both  the  concrete  and 
discrete  transitions  in  pitch,  the  latter  being  as  inseparable 
from  any  succession  of  syllabic  sounds  as  the  former  from 
any  individual  utterance.  To  illustrate  this:  Suppose  the 
pronoun  /  be  given  with  earnest  interrogation,  expressing 
strong  surprise,  and  it  would  pass  .through  the  rising  con- 
crete interval  of  probably  eight  notes  of  the  musical  scale. 
Then  let  the  word  fail  be  given  immediately  after  the  /, 
with  the  same  interrogative  surprise,  though  less  earnestly 
than  the  first,  and  beginning  at  the  same  degree  of  the 
scale,  and  it  will  pass  through  the  rising  concrete  of  prob- 
ably a  fifth.  Thus,  we  have  an  interrogative  sentence. 
The  voice,  in  passing  from  the  termination  of  the  first 
word  to  the  commencement  of  the  second  must  of  ne- 
cessity perform  a  skip  or  a  discrete  transition  through  an 
octave.  A  more  advanced  study  of  the  subject  will  show 
us  that  this  discrete  movement,  in  the  successive  syllabic 
utterances  of  speech,  is  made  either  through  proximate  or 
(as  in  the  instance  given)  through  remote  intervals. 


*The  term  Concrete,  etymologically  considered,  means  grown  to- 
gether. The  term  Discrete  is  derived  from  dis  and  cerno,  to  see 
aparty  or  to  distinguish. 


Pitch.  29 

If  the  sentence,  "I  am  poor,  and  miserably  old,"  be 
uttered  with  a  plaintive  expression,  the  syllabic  utterances 
wil    pass  through  a  semitone. 

57.  There  is  in  speech  still  another  mode  of  discrete 
transition  through  the  degrees  of  pitch,  produced  by  the 
voice  passing  discretely  from  acuteness  to  gravity,  and  the 
reverse,  by  intervals  much  smaller  than  a  semitone,  each 
point  being  touched  by  abrupt  emissions  of  voice,  follow- 
ing each  other  in  rapid  succession.  The  extent  of  the 
interval  contained  between  these  brief  and  rapid  iterations 
is  lot  known,  nor  is  it  important  that  it  should  be.  The 
SOI  nd  is  well  illustrated  by  the  neighing  of  a  horse,  or  by 
gu  gling  in  the  throat,  and  is  called  the  Tremulous  Scale 
of  the  Voice,  or  the  Tremor. 

The  speaking  scale  progressing  principally  by  whole 
toi  es,  and  not  being  limited,  as  in  music,  to  the  arrange- 
ment of  tones  and  semitones,  may  be  regarded  as  the  com- 
p(us  of  the  voice ^  be  that  eight,  twelve,  sixteen,  or  more 
decrees.  As  the  peculiarity  of  key  arises  from  the  fixed 
pic  ce  of  semitones,  there  can  be,  in  the  transitions  of 
spoech-melody  through  this  scale  of  pitch,  no  change  of 
kc)^,  and  hence  no  modulation.  This  term  modulation  has 
be^n,  and  still  is,  popularly  misapplied  to  denote  the  transi- 
tic  ns  of  voice  through  the  speaking  scale,  but  must  be 
re  ected  from  an  accurate  treatment  of  the  subject  of 
speaking  sounds. 

(i)  Pitch  is,  then,  a  term  representing  any  variation  of 
th  J  voice  from  gravity  to  acuteness. 

(2)  There  are,  in  the  use  of  speech-sounds,  two  kinds 
of  transition  in  pitch  :  concrete,  by  a  continuous  or  uninter- 
ripted  movement;  and  discrete,  by  a  skipping  or  discon- 
n(  cted  movement. 

(3)  Speech  has  four  scales  or  modes  of  progression  in 
pi  :ch :  the  diatonic,  the  concrete,  the  tremulous,  and  the  semi- 
to  lie,  known  in  music  as  the  chromatic. 


30  Murdocli  s*  Elocution, 

(4)  Intervals  mark  the  distance  between  any  two  degrees 
of  these  scales,  and  are  either  concrete  or  discrete. 

(5)  Intonation  in  speech  is  the  correct  execution  of  the 
intervals  of  its  several  scales,  and  constitutes  one  of  the 
chief  elements  of  expression  in  spoken  language. 

(6)  Melody  of  speech  is  an  agreeable  variation  of  these 
intervals  on  the  successive  syllables  of  language. 

28.  Science  teaches  that  acuteness  and  gravity  are  the 
results  of  tension  and  relaxation,  and  consequently  of 
rapid  and  slow  vibration  of  the  vocal  chords  attendant 
respectively  upon  the  elevation  and  depression  of  the 
larynx. 

The  larynx  rises  and  the  fauces  contract  in  the  utter- 
ance of  acute  sounds;  the  fauces  dilate  and  the  larynx 
falls  with  the  grave.  The  natural  position  for  the  produc- 
tion of  high  pitch  elevates  the  chin  slightly,  low  pitch 
depresses  it,  and  in  middle  pitch  the  position  is  that  of 
simple  repose.  We  also  study  pitch  in  the  five  degrees 
of  middle,  low  and  lowest,  high  and  highest. 


Chapter  IV. 
The  Concrete  Movement  or  the  Radical  and  Vanish. 

liQ.  In  the  simple  pronunciation  of  the  letter  a,  two 
SOI  nds  are  heard :  the  first  has  the  nominal  sound  of  the 
ietier,  and  issues  from  the  organs  with  a  certain  degree  of 
ful  ness;  the  last  is  the  element  e,  gradually  diminishing  to 
an  attenuated  close.  In  the  utterance,  the  voice  will  trav- 
erse a  rising  interval  of  a  tone  or  second. 

The  first  part  of  the  interval,  in  this  instance,  is  called 
tht  radical  movement^  as  the  fullness  of  its  opening  is  the 
roct  fipm  which  the  remaining  concrete  proceeds;  the 
lat  er,  or  gradual  diminution  of  the  sound,  is  called  the 
varishing  movement,  from  its  seeming  to  die  away  into 
sil(  nee.  These  terms  apply  only  to  the  two  extremes  of 
tht  concrete,  for  the  radical  changes  into  the  vanish  so 
grc  dually  as  to  admit  of  no  assignable  point  of  distinction 
between  them.  The  entire  concrete,  comprehending  the 
two  movements  continuously  blended  together,  is  called 
tht  radical  and  vanishing  movement,  and  sometimes  the  note 
of  speech.  The  character  of  this  radical  and  vanishing 
mc  vement  is  represented  to  the  eye  by  the  visible  mark  of 
no  ation,  [^^]>  which  will  be  used  in  the  course  of  this 
wc  :k. 

;;0.  It  is  somewhat  difficult  to  recognize  the  radical  and 
va  lish  on  the  interval  of  the  tone,  but  in  order  to  render 
thi  '■,  movement  appreciable  to  the  ear  we  must  magnify  it. 
Pr  )nounce  the  letter  a  as  a  question  of  surprise,  in  the  fol- 
lo\'ing  sentence:    ''Did   you   say  a?"   and   its   dipthongal 

(31) 


32  MtirdocJi  s  Elocution. 

character,  with  the  radical  and  vanish  of  its  opening  and 
termination,  will  be,  clearly  exhibited  on  the  extended 
interval  of  the  rising  fifth  or  octave.  Utter  the  s*me  letter 
with  positive  affirmation,  as,  ''I  said  «,"  and  the  same 
effect  of  fullness  and  diminution  will  be  produced  on  a  fall- 
ing concrete,  with  the  radical  at  the  summit  of  the  sound, 
and  the  vanish  attenuating  downward. 

This  simple  utterance  of  the  radical  and  vanish  seems  to 
be  an  instinctive  and  uncontrollable  function  of  the  speak- 
ing voice  underlying  all  syllabic  utterance. 

In  the  correct  execution  of  the  utterance  a,  as  given 
above,  the  student  must  be  conscious  of  a  peculiar  sensa- 
tion felt  in  the  larynx  or  its  mouth,  which  is  the  glottis,  at 
the  moment  in  which  the  radical  sound  is  expelled  from 
that  organ,  and  before  it  becomes  blended  with  the  fainter 
vocality  of  the  vanish.  From  the  inception  of  the  vocal 
effort,  the  organs  move  from  one  position,  at  the  opening 
of  the  given  sound,  to  another  at  its  close;  /.  ^.,  th*y  glide 
from  an  open  position  on  the  fullness  of  the  a,  to  a  com- 
paratively close  position  on  the  vanishing  e. 

31.  From  this  it  will  be  seen  that  the  radical  and  vanish- 
ing movement  is  the  result  of  one  impulse  of  the  breath, 
and  is  the  basis  of  the  syllabic  structure.  The  transit  of 
vocal  sound  and  action,  as  in  the  example  just  given,  con- 
stitutes the  peculiar  character  of  the  speech-note  as  distin- 
guished from  that  of  song. 

The  long  drawn  notes  of  song  and  recitative  are  of  an 
entirely  different  character,  the  voice  being  prolonged  upon 
a  level  line  of  pitch  by  holding  the  organs  in  one  position 
until  the  close  of  the  note. 

If  the  dipthongal  vowel,  a,  or  any  other  capable  of  pro- 
longation, be  uttered  with  correct  pronunciation,  smoothly 
and  distinctly,  without  intensity  or  emotion,  or  with  only  a 
moderate  degree  of  earnestness,  it  commences  full  and 
somewhat  abruptly,  and  gradually  decreases  in  its*  upward 


The   Concrete  Movement,  33 

or  downward  movement  until  it  becomes  inaudible ;  having 
the  increments  of  time,  and  rise  or  descent,  and  the  decre- 
ments of /ullness  equally  progressive,  the  two  sounds  which 
compose  it,  the  radical  movement  and  the  vanish,  blend- 
ing imperceptibly  together  as  a  result  of  the  peculiar  action 
of  the  organs.  This  is  called  the  equable  concrete,  and  be- 
lorgs  only  to  speech.  This  full  opening,  equable  gliding, 
tht  lessening  volume,  and  the  soft  extinction  of  sound, 
mrrk  the  difference  between  the  equable  concrete  of  the 
speaking  voice,  and  the  sounds  of  all  musical  instruments. 
T?e  concrete  is  carried  in  speech  through  the  intervals  of 
the  tone,  semitone,  third,  fifth,  and  octave.  The  voice 
mj,y  also  pass  through  the  remaining  intervals,  the  fourth, 
si>th,  and  seventh,  or  beyond  the  octave;  but  a  reference 
to  the  third,  fifth,  and  octave  as  the  wider  intervals  em- 
ployed in  speech  is  sufficiently  accurate  for  an  efficient 
study  of  our  subject. 

32.  Under  the  influence  of  emotion,  the  concrete  move- 
m  mt  loses  its  simple,  equable  form,  which  is  the  vocal  sign 
ol  a  more  or  less  tranquil  state  of  mind,  and,  according  to 
the  kind  and  degree  of  the  emotion,  a  corresponding  con- 
ctntration  of  force  is  appHed  to  some  part  or  to  all  of  its 
extent;  thus,  we  have  the  phenomena  of  stress.  Of  this, 
w ;  have  six  different  forms : 

(i)  Radical  Stress,  or  force  applied  to  the  opening  of 
tl  e  concrete.* 


*  Radical  stress,  in  its  simplest  or  lightest  form,  exists  in  the 
e'  uable  concrete,  constituting  the  clear,  full  opening  of  the  former. 
I  only  becomes  a  vocal  sign  of  emotion  by  explosive  force  on  this 
o  )ening  of  the  syllabic  impulse.  The  radical  is  the  only  form  of 
s  ress  that  may  be  inexpressive  in  its  character.  This  point  will 
bi  fully  explained  in  our  practical  consideration  of  the  subject;  it 
i:  mentioned  in  this  connection  to  avoid  what  might  seem  to  be  a 
c  )ntradiction. 


34  MurdocJis  Elocution. 

(2)  The  Loud  Concrete,  in  which  the  whole  equable  con- 
crete is  magnified  by  unusual  force,  while  the  proportion 
of  the  radical  to  the  vanish  remains  unaltered. 

(3)  Median  Stress,  a  swell  or  impressive  fullness  on  the 
middle  of  the  concrete. 

(4)  Compound  Stress,  an  unusual  application  of  force  to 
each  extremity  of  the  concrete. 

(5)  Final  Stress,  force  applied  to  the  latter  extremity  of 
the   concrete,  while  the  radical   is  diminished  in   fullness. 

(6)  Thorough  Stress,  in  which  the  concrete  has  the  full- 
ness and  force  of  the  radical  throughout  its  entire  extent. 

The  forms  of  stress  will  be  further  described,  and  their 
application  illustrated,  in  our  practical  studies  on  the  con- 
crete. 

The  plain,  equable  structure  of  the  radical  and  vanish 
will  be  called  the  simple  concrete,  to  distinguish  it  from  the 
concrete  affected  by  the' various  modifications  of  force  com- 
prehended in  the  several  forms  of  stress. 

33.  Besides  the  forms  of  the  rising  and  falling  concrete, 
the  voice  often  continues  the  rising  into  the  falling  con- 
crete by  a  single  impulse  of  sound,  thus  doubling  its 
extent.  Again,  the  falling  may  in  the  same  way  be  con- 
tinued into  the  rising  movement.  This  form  of  the  radical 
and  vanishing  movement  is  called  the  Wave,  and  the  inter- 
vals of  which  it  is  composed  are  called  its  constituents  or 
flexures. 

The  following  diagrams  illustrate,  by  graphic  means,  the 
various  concrete  intervals  and  waves.  The  wave  is  em- 
ployed through  all  the  intervals  of  the  scale,  and  in  all 
possible  combinations;  and,  furthermore,  its  expression,  in 
all  its  forms,  is  modified  by  the  application  of  stress  to 
different  parts  of  its  course,  at  the  beginning,  or  at  the 
end,   or  the  junction  of  its  constituents. 

The  wave  is  the  vehicle  for  syllabic  quantity  in  its  most 
extended  forms. 


The  Concrete  Movement. 


35 


CoNfRETE  Intervals  and  Waves. 


^     \       ^  4      ^ 


(  oncrete  rising  Concrete  down-  Concrete  rising  Concrete  down- 

tone,  ward  ton*e.  third.  ward  third. 


iS 


(oncrete  rising 
fifth. 


Concrete  down-         Concrete  rising  Concrete  down- 

ward fifth.  octave.  ward  octave. 


l^^^^^^^ZZZ^^^ 


E(  ual  single  Equal  single  Equal  single  Equal  single  Equal  single  Equal  single 

dii  ect,  wave  inverted,   of  direct,  of  the  inverted,  of  direct,  of  the  inverted,  of 

of    the    sec-  the  second,  third.  the  third.  fifth.  the  fifth, 
on  1. 


r\\J\r\J\^'^ 


E  lual  single     Equal  single  Unequal  sin-  Unequal   in-   Double  equal  Double    un- 

di -ect,  of  the     inverted,  of  gle  direct,  of   verted, of  the  direct,  of  the  equal  invert- 

o.  tave.  the  octave,     the  fifth  and   third  and  oc-   third.  ed,    of      the 

third.  tave.  third,    fifth, 

and  third. 


The  following  symbols  are  used  to  represent  to  the  eye 
the  concrete  as  affected  by  the  different  modifications  of 
St  ess  through  all  the  intervals. 


36                     Murdoclis  Elocution. 

Forms  of  Stress  on  the  Concrete. 

i  n  1  ! 

1 

34..  The  pitch  at  which  the  concrete  begins  will  be  called 
Radical  Pitch,  to  distinguish  it  from  that  of  the  entire 
radical  and  vanish,  which  will  be  called   Concrete  Pitch. 

The  concrete  function  is  sometimes  called  the  radical  and 
vanishing  movement ;  the  concrete  move^nent,  progression,  in- 
terval, or  pitch;  or,  simply,  the  Concrete  or  the  Radical  and 
Vanish.  The  discrete  function  is  called  the  discrete  move- 
ment, progression,  change,  skip,  or  pitch.  Where  the 
direction  of  the  concrete  or  the  radical  is  not  specified  or 
implied,  the  term  is  used  either  for  rise  or  fall.  As  a  gen- 
eral designation  of  the  extent  of  intervals  and  waves,  all 
greater  than  those  of  the  semitones  and  second  are  termed 
wider  intervals  and  waves.  The  term  radical  and  vanish, 
when  generically  employed,  refers  to  the  combination  of 
beginning  and  terminal  part  of  the  concrete  under  any 
modification  of  either  of  these  parts. 

35.  Every  syllable  of  speech  being  a  single  impulse  of 
utterance,  involves  the  radical  and  vanish  as  a  necessity  of 
its  organic  production.  The  concrete  is,  therefore,  the 
soul  of  the  syllabic  sound,  and  forms  the  working  material 
for  all  the  purposes  of  articulation  and  intonation.  It 
must  have  some  point  of  commencement  on  the  scale,  and 
traverse  some  interval;  it  must  occupy  some  time  in  the 
utterance ;  it  must  also  be  uttered  with  some  degree  of 
muscular  effort,  and  hence  of  force;  and,  last,  it  must 
have  quality,  or  some  peculiar  kind  of  sound.  The  con- 
crete function  is  the  foundation  upon   which  is  built   the 


The   Concrete  Movement.  37 

measurement  of  all  the  sounds  of  speech,  and  is  the  prin- 
ciple which  underlies  the  Hfe  and  power  of  every  utter- 
ance of  the  speaking  voice,  from  the  most  delicate  audible 
whisper,  to  the  accumulated  forces  of  the  loudest  and 
most  prolonged  shout  within  the  capabilities  of  the  vocal 
mechanism.  //  is  the  key  which  unlocks  the  whole  philosophy 
of  the  speaking  voice.  A  theoretical  and  practical  under- 
staading  of  this  great  fundamental  principle  of  spoken 
language  not  only  develops  the  full  powers  of  the  voice, 
bu:  gives  control  over  it  for  the  effective  and  natural 
utterances  of  language. 


Chapter  V. 


The  Elements  of  the  Language  Considered  and  Classified  dc^ 
cording  to  their  Relation  to  the  Radical  and  Vanish,  and 
to  their  Capacity  for  Tunable  Sound. 

36.  An  elementary  sound  in  language  is  one  that  is  in- 
capable of  further  division.  It  is  uttered  by  one  impulse 
of  the  organs,  and  is  the  simplest  form  of  articulate  utter- 
ance. 

As  the  alphabet  of  our  language  does  not  contain  a 
separate  symbol  for  each  of  these  elements,  we  are  obliged 
to  use  the  same  graphic  sign  for  different  sounds. 

The  elements  are  divided  with  reference  to  their  relation 
to  the  radical  and  vanish,  and  their  capacity  for  tunable 
sound  into  tonics,  subtonics,  and  atonies. 

Table  of  Tonic  Elements. 

Simple  Sounds.  Compound  Sounds. 

A-11,  E-rr,  A-le, 

A-rm,  E-nd,  I-ce, 

A-n,  I-n,  O-ld, 

A-sk,  Ai-r,  Ou-r, 

E-ve,  U-p,  Oi-1, 

Oo-ze,  0-r,  U-se. 

L-oo-k,  O-n. 

The   tonic   elements  have  the  purest  and  most  tunable 

vocality  of  all  the  materials  of  speech.     They  are  capable 

of  being  prolonged  indefinitely,  and  admit  of  the  concrete 

rise  and  fall  through  all  the  intervals  of  pitch.     They  may 

(38) 


>■ 


The  Elements  of  Language.  39 

be  uttered  with  more  force  and  abruptness  than  the  other 
elements,  and  at  the  same  time,  from  their  power  of  pro- 
longation, may  preserve  the  gradually  attenuated  move- 
ment of  the  vanish.* 

37.  All  of  the  tonic  sounds  are  produced  by  the  joint 
furctions  of  the  larynx,  fauces,  and  parts  of  the  internal 
and  external  mouth.  Although  produced  in  the  larynx  by 
the  action  of  the  vocal  chords,  the  ultimate  perfection  of 
every  tonic  sound  depends  upon  the  correct  position  of  the 
lips  and  tongue.  The  lower  jaw  also  facilitates  their  utter- 
ance by  its  motions,  and  the  consequent  modifications  of 
tht   cavity  of  the  mouth. 

The  lips,  by  their  approximation,  diminish  the  size  of 
tht  external  opening  of  the  mouth;  and  the  tongue,  by  its 
elevation  toward  the  roof  of  the  mouth,  that  of  the  cavity 
or  internal  opening.  The  individual  vocal  character  of 
eaoh  tonic  is  thus  principally  determined  by  one  of  these 
twD  agencies. 

38.  Those  tonics  which  are  modified  chiefly  by  the 
agincy  of  the  lips  have  been  called,  from  this  circum- 
strnce,  the  'Mabial  vowels."  They  are:  a-\\,  oAd,  ou-x, 
00- -ZQ,  o-n.  They  have  an  enlarged  interior  opening  or 
passage  for  the  sound  produced  by  a  greater  or  less  de- 
pression of  the  tongue  at  the  root,  the  lower  jaw  and 
laiynx  being  simultaneously  and  proportionately  lowered. 
Tlieir  peculiar  mechanism  gives  to  these  sounds  a  grave 
ard  somber,  or  solemn  character,  producing  also  a  sorrow- 
fu    and  gloomy  expression  of  the  face. 


*  Under  the  usual  division,  the  tonics  are  called  vowels,  and  the 
re  naining  elements  consonants.  The  present  nomenclature  is 
aci  Dpted  by  Dr.  Rush,  not  as  designing  "to  overlook  or  destroy 
ar  angements  truly  representing  the  relationships  of  these  sounds, 
bi  t  to  add  to  their  history  a  division  grounded  on  their  important 
fu  ictions  in  intonation." 


40  Murdoch's  Elocution. 

39.  The  tonics  ^-rm,  <a;-le,  z-sle,  /-n,  ^-rr,  ^-nd,  ee-\ 
are  those  modified  chiefly  by  changes  of  position  in  the 
tongue,  and  have  thence  been  called  the  ''lingual  vowels." 
In  their  formation,  the  tongue  rises  in  varying  degrees, 
from  its  natural  position  of  rest  toward  the  roof  of  the 
mouth,  thus  diminishing  in  proportion  to  this  elevation  the 
size  of  the  oral  cavity;  at  the  same  time,  the  external  or 
labial  opening  is  laterally  elongated.  They  have  a  sprightly 
or  brilliant  vocal  character,  and  are  associated  with  a  crisp 
and  smiling  expression  of  the  countenance.^ 

40.  A^  in  ^-11,  is  the  sound  produced  by  the  lowest  posi- 
tion of  the  larynx,  and  consequently  greatest  depression  of 
the  base  of  the  tongue,  which  is  slightly  grooved,  and 
the  lowest  position  of  the  jaw,  the  cavity  of  the  mouth 
being  more  open  posteriorly  than  in  any  of  the  other 
tonics  of  this  class.  This  sound,  in  consequence,  has 
greater  depth  and  breadth  than  any  of  the  tonics,  rever- 
berating in  the  cavernous  parts  of  the  throat  and  in  the 
thoracic  cavity. 

41.  A,  in  ^-rm,  is  formed  by  a  higher  position  of  the 
larynx,  and  the  sound  is  projected  farther  forward  than  in 
the  preceding,  and  strike^  against  the  anterior  part  of  the 
hard  palate,  or  roof  of  the  mouth,  ringing  through  the 
head  and  reverberating  through  the  chest  about  equally. 
It  is  also  accompanied  by  a  freer  opening  of  the  mouth, 
both  externally  and  internally,  than  exists  in  the  formation 
of  any  other  of  the  lingual  class  of  tonics,  the  tongue,  arch- 
ing slightly  at  the  back,  lies  on  a  level  with  the  teeth  in 
the  forward  part  of  the  mouth,  while  the  labial  aperture  is 
well  expanded,  producing  the  most  resonant  and  brilliant 
of  the  tonic  sounds. 


■•••Observe  the  different  expressions  of  the  face  in  uttering  the 
words  smile  and  frcnvn,  ■when  given  with  vocal  expression,  echoing 
the  sense  in  each  case ;  or,   the  words  bright  and  gloom. 


The  Elements  of  Language.  41 

42.  The  sounds  of  00  and  ee  are  the  least  full  and  reso- 
nant in  their  vocal  character,  having  what  may  be  termed 
a  veiled  or  woody  sound;  this  will  be  explained  by  their 
pecuhar  mechanism.  In  the  former,  the  sound  is  thrown 
almost  against  the  teeth  and  lips  nearly  closed,  while  in  ee 
the  internal  passage  for  the  sound  is  almost  obstructed  by 
the  elevation  of  the  tongue.  A  slighdy  closer  position  of 
the  lips  in  one,  and  of  the  teeth  in  the  other,  will  convert 
the^e  sounds,  through  the  occlusion,  respectively  into  the 
sub  tonic  vocalities  of  z£/-oe  and  jF-e. 

/!3.  With  the  aid  of  these  suggestions,  the  student  may 
easily  observe  for  himself  the  individual  vocality  and 
organic  formation  of  the  labial  sounds  intermediate  be- 
tween ^-11  and  00-zt^  and  of  the  lingual  between  ^-rm 
and  ee-\. 

The  gliding  concrete  movement  of  speech  necessitates  a 
ch;Lnge  from  the  open  position  of  the  external  organs  on 
tht  radical,  to  a  closer  position  at  its  close  on  the  vanish, 
so  that  no  single  position  is  held  for  any  length  of  time. 
The  natural  action  itself  must  be  closely  observed,  aided  by 
judicious  suggestions  as  to  its  correctness,  or  illustrated  by 
a  oompetent  teacher,  rather  than  followed  from  pictured 
mc  dels  or  from  mere  graphic  descriptions.     See  ^  30. 

14.  In  deliberate  utterance,  the  organic  action  is  much 
m(  re  positive  than  in  hasty  speech.  The  varying  positions 
of  the  lips,  tongue,  and  jaw  in  the  formation  of  the  tonic 
sounds  should  be  first  practiced  before  a  mirror  until  the 
na;ural  and  unconstrained  action  of  the  visible  organs,  in 
th  :  correct  and  deliberate  enunciation  of  each,  is  observed 
and  confirmed. 

In  all  practice  on  these  elements,  great  care  should   be 

ta  Lcn  not  to  use  any  undue  action  of  the  lips,  particularly 

or   0,  00,  and  ou,  as    their   slow  or  energetic   utterance  is 

very  apt,  at  first,  to  be  accompanied  by  protrusion  of  these 

organs,   which  constitutes  the  fault  of  mouthing. 
M.  E.-4. 


42  Murdoch's  Elocution, 

In  the  correct  production  of  the  concrete  of  speech  the 
jaw  acts  vertically.  Any  tendency  to  work  it  laterally, 
(which  is  sometimes  the  fault  of  overeagerness  to  give  the 
tonic  its  full  vocal  value),  will  also  produce  an  unnatural 
utterance,  akin  to  mouthing,  and  should  be  carefully 
guarded  against  in  the  first  practice. 

45.  In  illustrating  the  concrete  movement  of  the  tonic  «, 
it  was  stated  that  this  element  has  its  radical  or  opening 
upon  a,  and  its  vanish  upon  e.  Six  more  of  the  tonics 
have,  in  like  manner,  different  sounds  for  the  two  extremes 
of  the  concrete.  As  this  coalescence  of  two  tonic  sounds 
is  called  a  diphthong,  we  have  seven  proper  diphthongs 
among  the  tonic  elements.     These  are: 

A,  as  in  awe^  which  has  its  vanish  in  the  short  sound  of 
e,  in  err. 

A,  in  art^  whose  vanish  is  on  e,  in  err. 

A,  as  in  ale,  vanishes,  as  already  stated,  upon  the  sound 
of  e,  as  in  eel. 

I,  as  in  ice,  has  its  vanish  upon  e,  in  eel. 

O,  as  in  old,  glides  into  and  vanishes  upon  00,  as  in 
ooze. 

Ou,  as  in  our,  also  vanishes  upon  the  sound  of  00,  in 
ooze. 

Oi,  as  in  oi-\  or  v-oi-cQ,  may  be  added  to  the  dip- 
thongal  tonics  (making  eight  in  all),  though  it  is  more 
properly  a  tripthong  composed  of  fz-we,  ^-rr,  and  cc-\. 
When  the  element  is  short,  however,  it  is  dipthongal,  com- 
posed of  ^-we  and  i-n. 

Five  of  the  tonics:  e  as  in  eel;  00,  as  in  ooze;  e,  as  in 
err;  e,  as  in  end;  and  /,  as  in  in,  continue  the  same 
throughout  the  radical  and  vanish,  and  are  true  mono- 
thongs. 

46.  The  elements  of  the  second  class  are  formed,  like 
the  tonics,  in  the  larynx;  but  are  modified,  in  various 
ways,  by  their  passage  through  the  external  orifices,  rever- 


The  Elements  of  Language, 


43 


berating  in  the  mouth,  fauces,  and  cavities  of  the  nose. 
Th(y  also  possess  the  properties  of  vocality  and  prolonga- 
tior,  though  in  both  are  inferior  to  the  tonics,  and  are 
called  subtonic  sounds.  Each  tonic  has  a  vocality  peculiar 
to  itself.  That  of  the  subtonics  is  much  alike  in  all,  and 
is  jcnown  as  the  ''vocal  murmur."  They  are  fifteen  in 
nuriber,  and  are  as  follows: 


Table  of  Subtonic  Elements. 


b,     as 
d. 

in      ^abe. 
^-id. 

'        z/-alve 

z,         "        2-one. 

y, 

'        y-e. 
'         w-oe. 

2, 

as  in 

///-en. 
a-2-ure 

ng. 

^\-ng. 

I, 

/-ull. 

n, 
r, 

w-aim 

«-un. 

r-ap. 

!.et  the  student  take  the  word  babe,  and  pause  after  the 
ob  >cure  ' '  guttural  murmur "  (the  term  applied  to  the  pe- 
cu  iar  murmur  of  b,  d,  and  g)  of  its  first  sound,  and  he 
wi  1  hear  the  element  which  the  letter  b  represents,  or  if  he 
prolong  the  first  element  before  joining  it  to  the  next,  the 
sirgle  elementary  subtonic  sound  will  be  heard  in  the  pro- 
loi.gation.  Let  him  proceed  in  the  same  manner  to  obtain 
th(;  sound  of  the  other  subtonic  elements. 

These  elements  may  all  be  carried  through  the  different 
intervals  of  pitch,  but  they  have  almost  no  radical  fullness, 
and,  as  has  been  stated,  a  less  full  vocality  than  the  tonics. 
Tl.ey  are  produced  by  the  entire  or  partial  obstruction  of 
a  current  of  vocalized  breath  through  the  mouth,  and  the 
subsequent  removal  of  this  obstruction. 

The  restoration  of  the  free  passage  of  air  through  the 
m  )uth  at  the   termination  of  the  subtonic  utterance,   pro- 


44  Murdoch' s  Elocution. 

duces  a  peculiar  ending,  known  as  the  vocule  or  "little 
voice,"  which,  though  short  and  feeble  in  ordinary  speech, 
becomes  very  perceptible  in  forcible  or  affected  pronuncia- 
tion. This  must  not  be  confounded  with  the  vanish  of  the 
concrete.  The  slow  but  forcible  pronunciation  of  such 
words  as  bad,  hub,  tug,  rub,  etc.,  will  illustrate  this  vocular 
termination.  This  vocule  is  lost  when  the  subtonic  pre- 
cedes a  tonic  element,  and  the  voice  takes  in  its  place  the 
full  radical  sound  of  the  tonic,  thus  giving  an  abrupt 
opening  to  the  latter. 

47.  The  subtonic  can  not  be  given  an  abrupt  opening 
without  extraordinary  effort.  As  elements  they  are,  there- 
fore, deprived  of  the  proper  radical  movement  which  is 
peculiar  to  the  tonics.  But,  although  the  subtonics  are 
unfitted  for  the  abrupt  opening  of  the  radical,  they  may 
fulfill  all  the  purposes  of  the  vanish.  The  vocality  of  the 
subtonics  admits  of  their  prolongation,  and  an  extension  of 
their  time  is  next  in  importance  to  that  of  the  vowels  for  the 
purposes  of  elegance  and  correctness  in  speech.  Though  less 
tunable  than  the  vowels,  they  are  most  agreeable  to  the 
ear  when  properly  uttered  with^their  full  value. 

48.  Ten  of  the  elemental  sounds  of  our  language  are 
aspirations,  and  form  the  third  class.  They  are  produced 
by  certain  modifications  of  the  internal  and  external  mouth 
acting  upon  a  current  of  the  whispering  breath.  They 
have  no  vocality,  and  therefore  no  basis  for  the  function 
of  the  radical  and  vanish. 


Table  of  Atonic  Elements. 


/, 

as  in 

/-ipe. 

s. 

as  in 

j-ick. 

A 

<( 

^ent. 

wh. 

(( 

wk-ezt. 

k. 

(< 

' kAcV. 

th, 

" 

th-m. 

A 

" 

/-ife. 

sh, 

" 

Y)Vi-sh. 

h. 

" 

/^-e. 

ch, 

" 

(h-\xrc\\ 

The  Eleme7its  of  Language.  45 

These  elements,  from  their  want  of  vocal  sound,  are 
called  Atonies.  The  want  of  vocality  in  the  atonies  is 
almost  the  only  difference  between  them  and  the  subtonics^ 
as    s  shown  by  the  following  table : 


B, 

D, 

G, 

V, 

z. 

V, 

IV, 

Th. 

P, 

T, 

K, 

F, 

s, 

H, 

Wk, 

Th. 

49.  Six  of  the  whole  number  of  elements,  or  three  sub- 
tonics  and  three  atonies,  are  produced  by  a  bursting  forth 
of  the  breath  after  a  complete  occlusion.  These  abrupt 
elements  are  b,  d,  g,  /,  t,  k.  They  exhibit  their  final 
vocule  very  perceptibly  at  the  end  of  a  syllable,  but  before 
a  tmic  this  vocule  opens  out,  as  before  described,  into  a 
sudden  fullness  of  the  radical  of  the  tonic  sound,  as  in 
bar%  go,  dart,  pit,  take,  kick. 

50.  The  subtonics  and  atonic  elements  are  divided  ac- 
cording to  the  organic  conditions  *of  their  formation  into 
the  following  classes :  labials,  or  those  formed  chiefly  by 
the  agency  of  the  lips ;  dentals,  by  that  of  the  teeth;  palatit, 
or  ;hose  depending  on  the  palate  for  their  distinctive  char- 
act  ir;  nasals,  or  those  resulting  from  a  vocalized  breathing 
through  the  nose;  Unguals,  or  those  especially  dependent 
on  the  action  of  the  tongue ;  aspirates,  formed  by  a  forci- 
ble emission  of  breath  through  the  moderately  open  organs; 
an(.  labio-dentals,  depending  upon  teeth  and  lips. 

'  'he   dental  sounds   are   as   follows :    ^-id,    /-ent,    th-\n, 
th-j\Q,  a-s-ure,  ^w-sh,  <:-ease,  z-onQ. 
'^YiQ  palatic :  >^-ick,  ^-ag,  y-Q,  <:-ake. 
'Che  nasals:  n-nn,  s\-ng. 
'.'he  Unguals:  /-ull,   r-ap,   fa-n 
'  'he  labio-dentals :  z^-alve,  /-ife. 
'.'he  labials:  w-aim,  ^-abe,  /-ipe,  7C'-oe. 


Chapter  VI. 

Production  of  Tonic  Sounds, 

51.  The  organic  action  in  the  utterance  of  the  tonic 
sounds  at  the  seat  of  their  productioti  in  the  larynx  next 
claims  attention. 

The  speaking  voice,  like  the  singing  voice,  is  either 
made  or  marred  in  the  very  outset  of  practice.  Unless 
the  first  idea  is  minutely  and  correctly  given  and  confirmed 
by  constant  and  undeviating  practice,  and  the  mechanical 
agency  irrevocably  fixed,  the  vocality  will  in  most  cases  be 
imperfectly  formed.  Yet,  upon  this  original  understanding 
and  conformation  of  the  organs,  all  the  after  structure  of 
artistic  speech  depends. 

In  the  first  place,  the  production  of  what  is  called 
natural  voice,  or  pure  resonant  vocality,  principally  de- 
pends for  its  clearness,  fullness,  and  carrying  power  upon 
the  manner  in  which  these  tonic  sounds  are  first  uttered  in 
practice.  This  must,  therefore,  be  our  primary  considera- 
tion in  the  study  of  a  correct  and  effective  articulation  of 
the  elements. 

Previous  to  the  production  of  all  of  the  tonic  elements 
with  any  degree  of  precision  and  clearness  of  sound,  there 
is  a  drawing  in  of  the  breath  (an  act  preparatory  to  every 
effort  of  the  animal  organism),  followed  by  an  occlusion  in 
the  larynx,  caused  by  a  slight  clutch  of  the  glottis  and  epi- 
glottis, which  shuts  off  the  outflow  of  air.  This  resistance 
is  overcome  by  a  slight  action  of  the  diaphragm,  which 
drives  the  volume  of  air  thus  barred  against  the  vocal 
(46) 


Production  of  Tonic  Sounds.  47 

chords.  These,  in  their  separation,  vibrate,  and  produce 
sou  ad,  and  this  sound  is  modified  in  its  passage  outward, 
by  the  external  agencies,  into  its  distinctive  character  as  a 
vovel  or  tonic. 

In  the  clear  opening  of  the  sound  attendant  upon  a 
sligitly  forcible  separation  of  the  parts,  we  have  abrupt- 
nes;  or  radical  stress  in  its  lightest  form.  By  the  same 
pro:ess,  with  added  depth  of  indraught  and  muscular 
force  in  overcoming  the  stronger  resistance  of  the  occlu- 
sior  of  the  orifice  for  breathing,  this  opening  of  the  sound 
may  be  increased  to  a  strong  explosion.  This  result 
shoild  be  the  last  acquired. 

52.  It  is  of  great  importance  that  this  fundamental  prin- 
ciple of  the  speaking  voice  should  be  understood  at  the 
ver/  outset.  I  shall,  therefore,  show,  by  means  of  a 
simple  experiment,  how  this  most  perfect  means  of  sound- 
ing a  tonic  element  is  obtained. 

I"  the  letter  p  be  attached  to  a,  and  we  wish  to  utter 
the  syllable  with  some  degree  of  abruptness,  it  will  be 
necessary  to  press  the  lips  together  before  the  abrupt  open- 
ing takes  place  by  which  the  /  receives  its  aspirated  force, 
and  breaks  into  the  vocality  of  a.  It  will  be  perceived 
tha  the  abruptness  and  force  of  the  first  element  depends 
altogether  upon  the  firmness  with  which  the  lips  are  com- 
pressed, and  the  resistance  of  air  collected  in  the  mouth. 

I^Tow,  let  the  a  be  sounded  by  itself,  with  the  intent  of 
giv  ng  it  a  clear,  full  opening.  In  this  case,  we  feel  a 
kin  i  of  shutting  up  of  the  larynx,  which  will  finally  give 
way  after  a  momentary  resistance,  and  the  sound  will  be 
abr  aptly  expelled,  the  silence  preceding  the  sound  making 
its  percussive  effect  the  more  remarkable. 

In  the  sentence,  *'  I  said  2, part,  and  not  all,''  if  we  con- 
sid'  r  the  visible  operations  of  the  organs  of  speech  before 
anc  when  we  articulate  the  letter  /,  in  part,  and  consider 
the   fact   that   the  resistance  made  by   the   lips  while   the 


48  Murdoch's  Elocution. 

breath  is  accumulating  for  the  explosion  of  the  sound  is 
identical  with  that  made  in  the  larynx  under  the  same  cir- 
cumstances upon  the  letter  a,  in  all,  we  will  begin  to 
realize  the  fact  that  the  organs  of  voice, — the  glottis  and 
epiglottis,  with  other  accessories, — exercise  a  similar  action 
of  occlusion  in  articulating  the  tonic  elements  as  the  lips, 
tongue,  teeth,  and  palate  in  producing  the  abrupt  elements 
3,  d,  g,  k,  /,  t.  Thus,  the  same  action  which  takes  place 
in  the  outer  mouth  in  "  Peter  Piper  picked  a  peck  of 
pickled  peppers,"  enables  the  inner  mouth,  or  glottis  to 
give  distinct  articulation  to  ' '  an  old  owl  ate  an  ortolan  in 
an  old  oak,"  the  occlusion  in  both  cases  requiring  an 
effort  of  the  will,  to  be  followed  by  immediate  action  on 
the  part  of  the  organs. 

In  thus  prefixing  the  /  to  a;  in  the  instance  first  given, 
we  intend  to  exhibit  the  visible  organic  action  preparatory 
to  the  abrupt  utterance  of  the  /,  and  thus  to  illustrate  how 
a  similar  process  of  preparation  and  execution  produces 
the  same  result  in  the  unseen  organs,  in  the  production  of 
the  tonics  or  vowels,  and  thus  to  direct  the  attention  to  the 
fact  that,  while  the  lips,  tongue,  and  teeth  are  prominent 
external  agents  in  articulation,  and  can  be  brought  by 
practice  into  a  finished  and  vigorous  exercise  of  their  func- 
tions, so  the  internal  tone-producing  organs  are  susceptible 
of  like  development,  and  in  a  still  greater  degree,  on  ac- 
count of  the  more  numerous  muscular  agencies  brought 
into  play  by  their  operations. 

53.  We  have  another  reason  for  attaching  the  /  to  the  a 
in  this  experimental  illustration.  The  syllable  />a  is  more 
easily  uttered  with  clearly,  defined  abruptness  by  the  un- 
practiced  organs  than  the  single  tonic  a,  for  the  reason  that 
the  slight  occlusive  pause  of  the  element  /,  with  its  conse- 
quent vocule,  which  breaks  into  the  opening  of  the  follow- 
ing tonic,  gives  abruptness  to  the  radical  of  the  latter. 
There  must  be  a  slight  hiatus  preceding  the  tonic  to  pro- 


Production  of   Tonic  Sounds.  49 

diice  this  clear  opening;  e.  ^.,  .  the  combination  ^-owl 
must,  if  the  article  be  pronounced  short  and  separately, 
with  a  pause  after  it,  produce  the  necessary  fullness  of  the 
radical,  but  the  utterance  is  delayed;  the  union,  however, 
of  n  with  the  tonic,  or  of  any  other  subtonic,  produces  the 
occlusive  pause;  and  we  have  the  agreeable  result,  an  owl. 

fi4.  The  forcible,  as  well  as  the  clear  and  delicate  rad- 
ica ,  is  to  be  obtained  only  after  patient  practice.  A 
po^ver  over  this  initial  function  of  vocality  will  be  best 
ac(  uired  by  first  imitating  a  short,  natural  cough,  which 
peifectly  illustrates  the  mechanical  formation  of  the  radical 
stress.     It  will  be  found  that  the  cough  is  produced: 

(i)  By  inspiration. 

(2)  By  a  closing  of  the  glottis,  and  shutting  off  of  the 
air    the  action  being  quite  perceptibly  felt. 

(3)  By  the  sudden  giving  way  of  this  occlusion  through 

the   action  of   the  diaphragm  and  abdominal  muscles  from 

below,   which  results  in  an  abrupt  vocality  of   one  of   the 

sh(Tt   tonics,  mingled  with  aspiration,  or,  rather,  followed 

by   the   atonic   breathing   h.     In   imitation  of  this  natural 

process,    let   the   student   execute  a  mechanical  cough  by 

str  )ng  occlusion  of  the  glottis,  and  subsequent  expelling  of 

th(   air,  as  if  striving  to  get  rid  of  some  slight  obstacle  in 

th(    throat.     This   short,    sudden    action,    will   produce   an 

ab  upt  vocality  resembling  e  in  err,   or  u  in  «p.     Let  this 

be  next  uttered  in  the  same  abrupt  manner,  but  freed  from 

all  huskiness  or  aspiration,  and  the  explosive  effect  of  the 

ra(.ical  in  pure  vocaHty  will   be  produced.     To  make  this 

ap  )arent,    let   the  student   cough   out   the   u,    in   up,   with 

as]>iration,  then  with  pure  vocality,  and  then  deliberately 

utizr  the  elements  ^-rr  and  u-^  without  the  cough,  and  the 

re  ult   will   be   a   clear,    radical   opening    of    the    element. 

Gieat   care   should  be   taken   to  project  the  sound  into  the 

ou  'er  air,  and  not  to  allow  it  to  be  detained,  as  it  were,  in 

th  ;  mouth. 
M.  E— 5. 


50  Murdoch! s  Elocution. 

The  student  should  not  proceed  a  step  farther  until  able 
to  execute  this  coughing  exercise  without  the  prompting  of 
an  exemplar,  since  its  correct  execution  is  the  basis  of  the 
important  function  of  radical  stress,  the  abrupt  initial  of 
vocality,  and  of  all  the  vocal  gymnastics  founded  thereon. 

The  cough  should  be  executed  with  a  v,ery  slight  exer- 
tion of  force  in  the  beginning,  as  the  delicate  muscles  of 
the  glottis  will  suffer  from  at  first  attacking  it  with  inju- 
dicious energy. 

55.  I  am  aware  that  the  use  of  the  cough  has  been  ob- 
jected to  by  singing  teachers,  and  Lunn,  in  his  excellent 
work  upon  the  voice,  has  shown  that  Dr.  Wylie,  of  Edin- 
burgh has,  through  scientific  investigation,  satisfactorily  to 
himself  and  the  scientific  world,  proved  that  perfect  speech 
tones  are  produced  by  an  explosion  of  condensed  air, 
bursting  from  the  ventricle  of  Morgagni  lying  between  the 
true  and  false  chords  of  the  glottis.  His  rule  is  to  hold 
the  breath,  and  then,  by  ceasing  to  withhold  it,  the  explo- 
sion takes  place.  I  am  willing  to  accept  and  rejoice  in  all 
this  in  the  light  of  progressive  science,  particularly  as  the 
point  was  left  by  Rush  to  the  future  decision  of  scientists. 
But  at  the  same  time,  I  adhere  to  my  own  convictions  as 
to  the  efficacy  of  the  cough,  and  as  I  know,  from  years  of 
experience  in  training  voices,  that  the  cough,  when  prop- 
erly understood  and  used,  can  never  be  otherwise  than  a 
healthy  practice  of  the  organs. 

Dr.  Rush  (in  his  own  case)  proved  that  the  coughing 
exercise  is  not  only  an  admirable  illustration  of  the  action 
of  the  organs  in  correct  tone  production,  but  it  is  also  one 
of  the  most  useful  exercises  for  developing  the  muscles 
governing  respiration. 

56.  When  the  student  has  clearly  established  in  his  mind 
the  character  and  formation  of  this  abrupt  radical  fullness 
by  means  of  the  cough,  let  him  next  utter  all  of  the  short 
tonic  elements  in  Table  of  Tonics,  ^36,  in  pure  vocality. 


ProdMction  of  Tonic  Sounds. 


alttjrnating  each  with  the  coughed  out  form  of  their  utter- 
ance as  first  given  in  the  partly  aspirated  imitation  of  the 
natural  cough.  The  latter  should,  in  all  elementary  exer- 
cises on  the  radical  stress,  precede  the  practice  on  the 
vocal  utterance,  as  it  calls  into  more  active  play,  and, 
thtrefore,  exercises  more  effectively,  the  muscular  agencies 
by  which  this  initial  function  is  produced. 
•  The  short  tonics  are  best  adapted  for  the  first  practice  in 
ac([uiring  the  initial  of  vocality,  as  they  take  on  the  abrupt- 
ness most  readily,  owing  to  their  incapacity  for  extension 
in  the  "concretes,  the  vanish  being  cut  off",  as  it  were,  by 
tht   succeeding  abrupt  atonic  or  subtonic. 

laving  satisfactorily  executed  the  short  tonics,  the  stu- 
dent may  practice  syllables,  and  then  may  pass  to  the  Long 
To  lies,  following  with  the  words  in  which  they  occur. 
Tha  precise  and  forcible  explosion  of  the  elements  and 
syllables,  as  here  recommended,  must  not,  therefore,  be 
re{.;arded  as  an  element  of  correct  articulation  alone,  but  as 
a  neans  to  an  end, — that  end,  the  "perfection  of  organic 
ha  )it  in  taking  the  syllabic  sounds,  as  the  musician  says  of 
tht  notes,  with  that  .perfect  accuracy  and  ease  which  gives 
lif(  and  beauty  to  all  sustained  utterance.  This  can  only 
be  gained  by  striking  the  intervals  correctly  with  clear, 
di.  Crete  movement,  as  the  note  on  the  piano  is  struck, 
wi  h  light,  elastic  touch,  and  without  feeling  for  it  or  creep- 
ini;  to  it. 

57.  The  proper  cultivation  of  the  organs  of  speech  in 
relation  to  the  articulation,  as  well  as  the  expressive  forms 
of  utterance,  should  involve  a  practice  of  the  functions  of 
as  )iration  as  expressed  in  the  articulated  whisper.  This 
fo  m  of  whisper  must  be  carefully  distinguished  from  the 
sh-ill  whistled  or  lip  form;  /.  ^.,  the  manner  of  whispering 
us  id  to  arrest  the  attention  of  some  one  near  the  speaker. 
Tliis  form  of  whisper  is  of  no  use  in  voice  culture,  as  it  is 
fo  med  only  of   that  quantity  of  air  which  ie  quietly  sup- 


52  Murdoch's  Elocution. 

plied  to  the  organs  as  in  natural  breathing,  and  without 
bringing  into  play  the  muscles  necessary  to  the  production 
of  the  speaking  voice. 

The  ^^  articulated  whisper,'"  on  the  other  h^nd,  calls  into 
action  many  muscular  agencies  not  employed  in  the  routine 
of  conversational  speech,  as  it  is  formed  well  back  in  the 
throat,  and  with  the  same  mechanical  action  as  when  artic- 
ulating a  vocality  in  the  lowest  pitch  of  the  voice,  but  witli 
a  more  forcible  effort  of  utterance.  It  represents  one  of 
the  most  intensified  forms  of  expression,  as  in  extreme 
terror,  warning,  or  fear.  The  difference  between  the  for- 
mation of  this  whisper,  and  that  which  lies  near  the  lips, 
may  be  illustrated  by  endeavoring  to  change  from  the 
latter  to  the  low  murmur  of  the  voice  as  heard  in  the 
sound  of  moo,  in  imitation  of  a  cow. 

The  value  of  the  articulated  whisper,  as  an  exercise  for 
the  development  of  the  voice,  will  be  enlarged  upon  in  our 
special  treatment  of  qualities  of  voice.  The  coughing  and 
whispering  processes,  besides  their  uses  as  articulative 
exercises,  are  the  basis  for  the  development  of  one  of  the 
grandest  qualities  of  the  human  voice,  the  orotund. 

58.  The  object  is  to  so  graduate  the  exercises  as  to 
thoroughly  and  gradually  develop  the  entire  powers  of  the 
organs  of  speech.  The  present  uses  of  the  articulative 
whisper  as  an  articulative  and  gymnastic  exercise  may  be 
summed  up  briefly  as  follows : 

(i)  It  is  the  first  means  of  drawing  attention  to  the 
glottic  action,  and  thereby  lowering  the  tones  to  the  seat 
of  action. 

(2)  It  introduces  an  incipient  force  into  the  vocal  execu- 
tion. 

(3)  It  gives  greater  distinctness  and  precision,  as  a  result 
of  the  preceding,   to  the  articulation  of  sounds. 

All  of  the  long  and  short  tonic  elements  should,  there- 
fore,   be   next  given   in   the  articulated   whisper,   with   the 


Production  of  Tonic  Sounds.  53 

same  process  of  formation  as  that  last  described  for  the 
abrupt  vocality.  Next,  let  them  be  given  in  the  same 
mainer  with  half  vocality,  sometimes  called  the  half  whis- 
per. The  scale  of  pitch  in  the  whisper  is  much  more 
limited  than  in  vocality.  The  object  here,  however, 
should  be  to  utter  all  of  the  whispered  sounds  in  low 
pitch. 

'  'he  teacher  may  then  introduce  familiar  sentences  in  the 
diflerent  forms  of  effusion,  expulsion,  and  explosion  in 
difierent  degrees  of  force  in  whisper  and  half  whisper, 
this: 


"  Now  fades  the  glimmering  landscape  on  the  sight, 
And  all  the  air  a  solemn  stillness  holds, 
Save  where  the  beetle  wheels  his  drony  flight, 
And  drowsy  tinklings  lull  the  distant  folds." 

EXPULSIOM. 

Hush  !     Hark  !     I  hear  a  noise. 
What  is  that?     Stop!     Listen! 

EXPLOSION. 

Begone !     Avaunt !     Hence !     Down ! 
"Avaunt!   and  quit  my  sight!     Let  the  earth  hide  thee!" 

59.  Let  the  order  of  practice  then  be  as  follows : 
[i)    Cough    out   lightly,    two   or   three   times,    the   tonic 
elt  ments,   slightly  increasing   the    force  at   each  repetition. 

(2)  Give  them  with  the  strong  articulated  whisper. 

(3)  Give  them  with  the  half  whisper  or  mixed  aspira- 
tic  n  and  vocality. 

(4)  Give  them  with  abrupt  opening  of  pure  vocality, 
gr  idually  increasing  the  force  in  successive  repetitions 
urtil  they  are  uttered  with  explosive  abruptness,  and  clear, 
rii  ging  vocality. 


54  Murdoclis  Elocution. 

The  student  must,  however,  exercise  great  care  in  this 
practice.  There  must,  in  the  first  place,  be  no  rigidity  or 
constriction  in  the  parts,  the  organs  being  held  with  "flex- 
ible strength."  Much  of  the  clearness  of  the  vocal  sound 
produced  will  depend  on  this  supple  firmness  with  which 
the  parts  are  held.  If  the  partitions  of  the  pharynx  are 
rigid,  and  the  muscles,  of  the  neck  stiffened,  the  radical 
sound  produced  will  be  sharp  and  hard,  instead  of  full  and 
ringing.  It  must  be  remembered  that  the  motor  power  is 
in  the  diaphragm,  abdominal,  and  intercostal  muscles. 

60.  Radical  stress  is,  then,  susceptible  of  every  degree  of 
force,  from  a  delicate  precision  or  clear  exactness  of  the 
radical  opening  of  the  sound,  to  moderate  force,  and  from 
this  to  explosive  violence.  This  may  be  illustrated  by  first 
imitating  a  violent  cough,  and  then  the  slight  hacking 
effort  by  which  we  clear  the  throat,  giving  distinct  utter- 
ance to  the  short  vowel  sounds. 

It  should  be  practiced,  when  its  abrupt  character  is  fully 
comprehended,  from  the  lightest  degree  of  force,  or  the 
utmost  delicacy  of  touch,  to  the  strongest  exertion  of  the 
vocal  mechanism.  Too  great  care  can  not  be  exercised, 
however,  in  approaching  gradually  and  judiciously  exercis- 
ing the  latter  extreme  of  utterance.  The  tendency  with 
many,  in  the  beginning,  is  to  cover  a  want  of  accuracy  in 
the  execution  by  the  violent  extremes  of  force.  This 
should  be  strictly  avoided.  Let  the  voice  at  first  be  kept 
as  low  in  pitch  as  possible,  increasing  the  force  at  each 
repetition  of  the  sound  (without  changing  the  pitch),  from 
the  lightest,  easy  opening  of  clear  sound,  to  forcible  ex- 
plosion.* 


*  These  two  extremes  of  force  may  be  severally  likened,  in  their 
effect,  to  the  light  tick  of  a  clock  and  the  loud  ringing  stroke  of 
the  clapper  of  a  great  bell. 


Production  of  Tonic  Sounds.  55 

In  no  respect  is  the  voice  more  capable  of  improve- 
ment than  in  regard  to  its  force,  yet  while  a  careless  and 
irrcjgular  employment  of  these  exercises  will  be  of  but 
little  service  in  developing  the  full  powers  of  the  voice, 
inj  idicious  practice  on  them  may  produce  permanent 
inj  iry.  Ten  minutes  spent  in  exploding  the  elements  or 
syllabic  combinations  with  undue  force,  and  without  care- 
ful regard  to  the  correct  use  of  the  organs,  may  produce 
tht  very  effects  against  which  the  student  is  seeking  to 
fortify  himself. 


Chapter  VII. 

Exercises  on  the  Tonic  Elements.  To  Correctly  Extend  the 
Vanish  of  the  Equable  Concrete  through  the  various  Inter- 
vals and  Waves. 

6i.  The  former  exercises,  for  the  correct  execution  of 
the  initial  or  radical  part  of  the  tonic  elements,  will  de- 
velop the  power  and  flexibility  of  the  organs,  and  prepare 
them  for  the  more  delicate  effects  to  be  executed  on  the 
vanishing  movement.  An  educated  control  over  the  latter 
gives  a  complete  command  of  the  entire  concrete  through 
its  various  degrees  of  extension. 

The  long  tonics  are  the  elements  of  quantity,  and  are 
extendible  to  the  utmost  limit  of  piercing  interrogation  and 
all  natural  cries,  through  the  rising  and  falling  intervals, 
and  the  different  forms  of  the  wave.  Hence  their  employ- 
ment on  the  extension  of  the  concrete  in  the  following 
tables. 

Tables  of  Notation. 

Exercises  on  the  Concrete  Intervals. 
I. 


Rising  Seconds. 


Falling  Seconds. 


y'     r  ^  ^  ^  ^     0- 

•Lit  ^•^•C^^ 

m    w  w  w   w  w  m 

a^     « 

'      a^Ie. 

a^,     "     ar^m. 

a^ 

'     a^I. 

e^ 

'     e^ve. 

o\ 

«     oad. 

r^^) 

in     a  le. 

"     eVe. 

"     i^ce. 

"     oMd. 

-     aMl. 

*'     oo^ze 

Exercises  on  the   Tonic  Elements. 


57 


6i5.  Table  I. — The  interval  of  a  second  is  represented 
first  rising  and  then  falling,  repeated  a  number  of  times 
for  the  purpose  of  practice.  Each  of  the  long  tonics 
should  be  given  on  this  interval  as  indicated  by  the  table, 
and  afterwards  the  monosyllables  in  which  they  occur,  the 
student  taking  care  to  give  the  radical  with  distinctness 
and  to  make  the  movement  equable  throughout. 


II. 


Rising  Thirds. 


FaUing  Thirds. 


^ 

y^  ^"  ^  ^  ^  ^ 

^^    ^^        Xw       X.     ^.       X 

w    w    #    Ir    •    w 

Did  you  say     a'', 

in 

a^ll? 

a^,    in     a^le. 

"           "       a^ 

(( 

ar^m? 

i\    ' 

'     i^ce. 

-    oo^ 

" 

oo'^ze  ? 

^■>    ' 

'     e'^ve. 

'•          *'       V, 

" 

is^e  ? 

ou\    ' 

'     ou'^r. 

"       e^ 

«« 

ee^l? 

a\    ' 

'     a^rm. 

"       o\ 

(( 

o^ld? 

o\    ' 

♦     oMd. 

'«      oi^ 

(< 

oi^l? 

oi\    ' 

'     oiM. 

63.   Tabk   II  extends   the   intervals   a   third,    as  in  the 

interrogative,    V    did   it?      Repeat    the    falling   movement 

on  the  same  interval  of  a  third  through  elements  and  then 

wo  ds. 

III. 


Rising  Fifths. 

Falling  Fifths. 

A      ^      A     A       A 

y    y  y   /   / 

^    ^    ^     A      \ 

J  J  J  J  J 

\      \      \      \      \ 

w     V  #r    w    w 

oi'',     in     oi^l. 

a^,     in     ar^m. 

oo^     "      oo^ze. 

a\     "      aMl. 

e^     "      e've. 

i\     «'      isMe. 

V,     "      i^ce. 

e^,     *'      e^ve. 

a^      "      a^le. 
ou^      "      ou^r. 

o\     ''      oMd. 

58 


Murdoch' s  Elocution. 


64.  Table  III  carries  the  voice  through  the  more 
earnest  interrogative  movements  of  a  rising  fifth,  and  then 
falls  on  the  same  interval. 


IV. 


Rising  Octaves. 


Falling  Octaves. 


^S 


65.  Table  IV  extends  the  inter vd  an  octave  upward,  as 
it  would  pass  in  a  piercing  interrogation  on  the  vowel 
sounds  as  given  in  the  above  tables.  Then  exercise 
the  voice  on  the  same  interval  with  downward  move- 
ment, 

66.  The  voice  has  now  been  made  to  traverse  the  inter- 
vals of  speech :  first,  the  simple  second,  through  which 
the  syllabic  utterances  of  unimpassioned  reading  or  speak- 
ing will  be  found  to  proceed;  and,  afterwards,  through 
those  more  extended  concretes,  which  are  used  to  express 
interrogation,  denial,  surprise,  command,  and  other  more 
earnest  states  of  the  mind. 

In  each  exercise  thus  far,  following  the  table  of  notation, 
the  radical  has  opened  upon  the  same  line  of  pitch  (which 
should,  in  the  rising  concretes,  be  at  first  several  degrees 
below  the  middle),  and  the  vanish  has  also  terminated  in 
the  same  manner,  the  voice  proceeding  from  concrete  to 
concrete  by  discrete  steps. 

The  student  must  next  proceed  to  acquire  greater  com- 
mand over  these  concrete  movements  by  exercising  the 
rising  and  falling  movements  alternately.  In  this  case,  the 
radical  of  the  downward  concrete  will  open  at  the  degree 
of   pitch  where  the  vanish  of   the  upward   concrete   ends. 


Exercises  on  the   Tonic  Elements. 


59 


Rising  and  Falling  Seconds. 


^    ^ 

mT    ^^     mT 

ik 

This 

is  zf. 

as  in  a^ll. 

This  is 

i^,  as  in  is^le. 

i 

'     a^ 

' '      ar'^m. 

" 

o^ 

"       oMd. 

'     a', 

"      a^n. 

" 

oo^ 

"       oo^ze 

'     a^ 

"      aMe. 

<( 

ou^ 

"       ou^r. 

( 

'     e^ 

"     eeM. 

" 

oi^ 

-       oiM. 

tj.  The  object  of  the  exercise  in  Table  V  is  to  famil- 
iarize the  student  with  the  contrasted  rising  and  falling 
movements  of  the  voice,  in  uttering  the  tonic  elements 
with  their  radical  and  vanish,  as  they  would  occur  on  the 
syl  ables  of  a  simple  sentence  of  complete  sense,  when 
uttered  with  distinctness,  and  as  a  deliberate,  unimpas- 
sio  led  statement  of  facts.  The  extension  of  the  sound 
in  an  upward  direction  will  be  readily  observed  on  the 
ele.Tients,  while  the  words  containing  the  same  tonic  ele- 
ment will  as  clearly  exhibit  the  falling  radical  and  vanish. 

^et  each  element  and  word  marked  be  given  with  a 
clear,  full,  radical  opening,  avoiding  undue  loudness  or 
foi^e,  and  then  let  the  sound  gradually  diminish  in 
vo  ume  until  it  is  lost  in  the  delicate  vanish. 

n  this,  as  in  the  following  exercises  of  this  chapter, 
thtre  must  be  no  application  of  force  to  the  vanish;  no 
br.'ak  or  unsteadiness  between  the  initial  and  final  move- 
m(  nt,  but  a  sustained  smoothness  in  the  utterance,  by 
w]  ich  the  radical  and  vanish  are  blended  imperceptibly 
to  ;ether. 

58.  Pronounce  the  elements  and  words  in  the  follow- 
in  j   table    with    a   moderately    forcible    abruptness    of    the 


6o 


Murdoch's  Elocution. 


initial  part,  and  prolong  the  sounds  in  the  rising  movement 
of  an  unimpassioned  or  unexcited  interrogation  until  the 
delicate  termination  of  the  tonic  is  heard  in  the  extreme 
vanish.*  Next,  allow  it  to  fall  through  the  same  interval, 
in  a  tone  of  denial.  The  same  elements  and  words  can  be 
used  in  the  interval  of  the  fifth,  and  afterwards  in  that  of 
the  octave. 

VI. 


Rising  and  FaUing 
Thirds. 


Rising  and  FaUing 
Fifths. 


Rising  and  FaUing 
Octaves. 


a', 

of 

aMe. 

a^ 

ar^m. 

a^ 

aMl. 

e^, 

e^ve. 

V, 

i^ce. 

oo^ 

oo'^ze. 

oo^ 

loo^k. 

ou^ 

ou'^r. 

a',  c 

f  arm. 

i^   ' 

'    i^ce. 

a^   ' 

'    aMl. 

e^   * 

•    e^ve. 

oo^   ' 

'    oo'^ze 

a^   "    aMe. 

ou^,   ' 

'    ou^r. 

oi^   ' 

'    OiM. 

of  i'^ce. 


a^   ' 

•    ar'^m. 

e^   « 

'    e'^ve. 

o\   ' 

*    oMd. 

ou^   ' 

'    ou^r. 

o\   ' 

'    or\ 

a^   ' 

'    aMe. 

oo^   ' 

'    oo^ze. 

The  exercises  may  be  varied ;  e.  g.,  a' — a^ — ar'm — ar^m ; 
i' — i' — i'ce — i'ce.  First  in  seconds,  then  in  thirds,  fifths, 
and  octaves,  until  the  ear  of  the  pupil  can  execute  and 
recognize  the  rising  and  falling  movements  himself. 

The  tables  of  tonic  sounds  are  the  easiest  to  execute; 
but  after  the  organs  are  rendered  pliant  on  these,  the 
subtonics    should     be     practiced    in    the    same    manner. 


*  A  very  common  error  in  uttering  the  dipthongal  tonics  is,  to 
use  the  words  of  Prof.  William  Russell,  that  of  "giving  this  com- 
plex sound  in  a  manner  too  analytical;  as, /ai-ee/, /at'-eefh,  etc." 
This  overnicety  must  be  carefully  avoided,  especially  in  the  exer- 
cise in  prolonging  these  sounds. 


Exercises  on  the   Tonic  Elements.  6i 


6(j.  Let  the  questions  of  the  preceding  table  be  next 
uttered  as  a  gently  complaining  or  plaintive  inquiry,  and 
the  interrogative  elements  and  words  will  pass  through  the 
interval  of  a  rising  semitone.  No  notation  of  this  interval 
is  given  in  the  tables  of  notation.  It  would  be  similar  to 
thai  of  the  second,  but  of  only  half  the  extent.  It  is  an 
interval  quickly  recognized  from  its  plaintive  character, 
and  should  be  practiced  on  all  of  the  tonic  elements,  both 
rising  and  falling,  similarly  to  the  other  intervals, 

70.  Let  all  the  exercises  on  the  tables  be  given,  also, 
witli  the  articulated  whisper,  and  then  with  the  half  whis- 
per alternating  these  with  the  pure  vocality.  This  exercise 
of  he  articulated  whisper  can  not  be  too  highly  regarded 
in  his  connexion,  as,  in  addition  to  its  uses  already  men- 
tioi  ed,  it  is  one  of  the  best  means  for  acquiring  a  control 
over  the  correct  extension  or  effusion  of  the  vanish. 

jlreafhing. — A  short  breath  should  be  taken  at  the  com- 
me  icement  of  each  line  or  half  line  in  the  tables,  or 
befDre.  the  elements  or  words  having  the  extension  on  the 
corcretes,  according  as  the  energy  or  duration  of  utterance 
ma/  create  a  greater  waste.  The  organic  position  prepar- 
atory to  uttering  all  of  the  open  vowel  sounds-  2\-^2iy%  affords 
an  opportunity  to  replenish  the  breath  with  perfect  ease 
and  without  apparent  effort.  To  quickly  draw  in  a  small 
suj-ply  of  breath  before  such  sounds,  when  single  or  as  the 
ini  ial  of  words,  in  the  course  of  a  sentence,  should  be 
observed  as  a  general  rule  of  all  practice.  After  each 
rej'etition  of  the  entire  table  let  the  lungs  be  refilled  by  a 
de  3p  inspiration. 

71.  It  will  be  found  that  the  upward  movement  of  the 
radical  and  vanish  is  much  more  easy  of  execution  than 
th';  downward.  Much  practice,  therefore,  should  be  given 
to  the  latter,  observing  the  efficiency  of  the  moderately 
fo  cible  radical  in  giving  directness  and  positiveness  of 
efl^ct  to  the  prolonged  descent  of  the  voice.     To  be  able 


62  Murc/oc/is  Elocution. 

to  carry  the  long  downward  concretes  slowly  through  their 
wide  extent  of  interval  with  a  proper  degree  of  firmness, 
equable  diminution,  and  delicate  extinction  of  sound,  is 
one  of  the  most  difficult  accomplishments  of  cultiva- 
tion. 

The  weight  of  the  voice,  it  must  be  remembered,  in  the 
wide  falling  concretes,  should  descend  like  a  heavy  blow, 
and  not  like  a  ball  that  rebounds;  /.  e.,  steadily,  directly, 
and  forcibly,  with  no  return  upon  itself,  or  jerking  back  at 
the  end. 

This  full  opening  and  final  vanish  of  the  perfectly  exe- 
cuted equable  concrete  is  an  attribute  no  less  beautiful, 
than  imperatively  necessary,  to  elegant,  or  even  simply 
correct,  speech.  It  requires  constant  practice  of  the 
organs  to  produce  the  clearness  of  the  radical,  the  move- 
ment direcdy  upward  or  downward,  and  the  diminishing 
volume,  gradual  and  equable,  which,  in  its  delicacy, 
"knits  sound  to  silence."  In  the  delicate,  smooth  effu- 
sions of  sound,  lie  all  the  graces  of  speech. 

72.  The  delicate  character  of  the  vanish  renders  the 
exact  measurement  of  the  intervals  a  matter  of  difficulty 
to  the  beginner.  This,  therefore,  should  be  determined 
in  the  first  practice  until  the  ear  becomes  familiar  with 
their  extent  by  uttering  each  tonic  element  in  unison  with 
an  instrument,  or,  which  is  better,  immediately  after  hav- 
ing sounded  its  intervals;  the  voice,  in  the  latter  case, 
measuring  the  interval  by  the  impression  just  made  upon 
the  ear.  If  a  piano-forte  be  employed  for  this  purpose, 
the  notes  marking  the  intervals  of  its  scales  will,  of  course, 
only  mark  the  boundaries  of  the  concrete,  or  its  points  of 
commencement  and  termination,  which  will  be  the  cor- 
responding discrete  interval. 

73.  Tables  VII  and  VIII  represent  the  notation  for  the 
discrete  intervals  with  rising  concretes  of  a  second,  first 
upward  and  'then  downward. 


Exercises  on  the  Discrete  Intervals.        63 


Exercises  on  the  Discrete  Intervals. 

Discrete  Thirds,  Fifths,  and  Octaves. 
VII. 


if   \  ^        ] 

nf       "^  -^        '^ 

,c ff- «r       I     — tf^ ^ — ^^ 


VIII. 


a,  in  at. 

^,  "  end. 

6,  **  on. 

!,  "  in. 

ti,  "  up. 


a, 

'     arm. 

a, 

"     ale. 

00, 

"     ooze 

e, 

'     eve. 

I'tter  each  of  the  short  tonic  elements  with  h'ght  radical 
stress,  first  on  the  first  degree  of  the  scale,  and  then  on 
the  second.  The  radicals  will  make  the  extremes  of  the 
interval  perceptible  to  the  ear,  and  fix  its  extent.  Then, 
while  the  effect  is  still  on  the  ear,  let  the  same  element  be 
car-  ied  concretely  through  the  same  interval.*  Then  follow 
wit  1  the  table  of  long  vowel  sounds.  Let  this  method  be 
pursued  with  the  third,   fifth,  and  octave. 

74.  The  concrete  and  discrete  intervals  should  be  taken 
from  any  place  on  the  scale,  in  any  order  of  succession, 
thr  )ugh  the  entire  compass  of   each  individual  voice. 

'  'he  formulas  of  notation  simply  indicate  the  direction 
anc  extent  of  the  intervals,  the  position  of  which  on  the 
sea  e  of  pitch  may  be  thus  changed  at  will. 


64  Murdoch's  Elocution. 

Although  the  vocal  drill  of  the  exercises  is  to  acquire  an 
organic  facility  and  exactness  of  execution  preparatory  to 
subsequent  application  of  the  various  intervals  to  their 
specific  uses  in  the  consecutive  utterance  of  language,  the 
generic  character  of  the  rising  and  falling  intervals  should 
be  considered  in  their  relation  to  the  latter,  in  order  that 
their  execution  in  the  practice  may  be  associated  with  the 
generic  state  of  mind  of  which  they  are  severally  the  ex- 
ponents ;  thus,  the  exercise  passes  beyond  the  merely 
mechanical.  The  downward  movements  are  vocal  signs, 
in  their  different  degrees  of  extent,  for  varying  degrees 
of  a  positive  state  of  mind,  such  as  is  expressed  by 
affirmation^  command,  denial,  etc. ;  while  the  rising  move- 
ments, in  their  different  degrees,  indicate  varieties  of  a 
generic  mental  condition  exactly  the  reverse  of  positive- 
ness;  as,  inquiry,  doubt,  appeal,  concession,  and  kindred 
states  of  the  mind.  The  downward  movements  also  indi- 
cate completion,  and  the  rising  continuation  or  incom- 
pleteness. 

75.  The  next  practice  should  be  directed  to  the  waves. 
These,  it  will  be  found,  partake  of  the  expressive  charac- 
ter of  the  concretes  of  which  they  are  composed.  In  con- 
secutively executing  a  rising  and  falling  concrete  second 
(Table  V  e.  g.),  the  voice  makes  two  impulses, — one  for 
each  individual  movement.  Let  the  rising  and  the  falling 
movement  be  combined  as  one  on  a  single  element,  the 
flexure  or  bending  taking  the  place  of  the  opening  radical 
of  the  second  separate  impulse  in  the  preceding,  and  we 
have  a  direct  wave  of  the  second  (see  diagram,  page  35.) 
The  ear  should  recognize  the  return  on  the  vanish  to  the 
starting-point  of  the  radical. 

Next,  reverse  the  order,  descending  a  second  from  the 
radical,  and  then  bending  it  back  again  on  the  rising 
second  as  one  impulse,  and  we  have  the  inverted  wave 
of  a  second. 


Exercises  on  the  Discrete  Intervals. 


65 


""hese  two  waves  would  be  illustrated  on  the  long  tonic 
elements  in  the  words  hail  and  ho-ly,  uttered  with  im- 
pressive dignity  and  adoration : 

^^  Hail,  holy  light,  offspring  of  heaven  first  born." 

Apply  the  same  principle  to  the  waves  of  the  third, 
fifti,  and  octave,  direct  and  inverted. 

The  tables  of  indefinite  syllables  following  may  be  used 
to  gain  facility  in  the  control  of  the  different  forms  of 
the  wave.  The  words  selected  preserve  their  identical 
syUabic  sound  under  all  degrees  of  prolongation. 

The  following  tables  should  be  practiced  on  the  con- 
crete intervals  of  the  rising  and  falling  second,  third,  and 
octave,  as  in  the  preceding  tables  of  notation. 


76.   Exercises  on  Indefinite  Syllables. 


Bal, 

Wheels, 

Wear, 

Flames, 

Awe, 

More, 

Breathe 

Fom, 

All, 

Earn, 

Jar,      " 

Give, 

Fall, 

Due, 

Fa  m, 

War, 

Ooze, 

Spire, 

Arm, 

Oil, 

Nine, 

Fev, 

Song, 

Air, 

Call, 

Fail, 

Fame, 

Queen, 

Ee 

> 

Gave, 

Dew, 

Sing, 

Jaw, 

Bull,   • 

Browse, 

m 

n, 

Boy, 

Line, 

Nor, 

Age, 

Vine, 

End, 

Te 

1, 

Sir, 

Fell, 

Are, 

Vow, 

Well, 

Err, 

Ye 

Rouse, 

Own, 

No, 

Blown, 

Tone, 

Stream, 

Kt 

en, 

Thee, 

Harm, 

Urge, 

Thy, 

Fare, 

Flaw, 

Lc 

ve, 

Show, 

Rise, 

Lorn, 

Leave, 

Bawl, 

Borne, 

M; 

ul, 

Boil, 

Paw, 

Lone, 

Small, 

One, 

Stare, 

So 

)n, 

Haul, 

Come, 

Saw, 

Writhe, 

Live, 

Here, 

Sn 

3oze, 

Curd, 

Brawl, 

Tithe, 

Drive, 

Snare, 

Rare, 

St; 

rs, 

Wheft, 

Sneeze, 

Spare, 

Flows, 

When, 

Knell, 

St 

ive. 

Shorn, 

Home, 

Care, 

King, 

Dare, 

Pure, 

Ai 

«. 

Barn, 

Pare, 

Prose, 

Morn, 

Wild, 

Wings, 

W 

irm, 

Born, 

Lull, 

Low, 

Furl, 

Doom, 

Bale, 

Ci 

rl, 

Plumed, 

Done, 

Times, 

Fair, 

Car, 

Turn, 

Sv 

am, 

Praise, 

He, 

Woe, 

Tears, 

Mar, 

Gain, 

K 

ows. 

Wine, 

Bear, 

Hail, 

Star, 

Our, 

Rhyme. 

The   lists   in  the    preceding   table,    with    their   smoothly 
flowing    tonic    elements,    and    subtonics,    also,    afford    the 

M.  E.— fi. 


66  Murdoch's  Elocution. 

materials  for  the  exercise  of  quantity  in  its  most  extended 
forms. 

Syllables,  when  correctly  extended,  must  retain  the  same 
identity  as  when  uttered  quickly;  that  is,  although  produc- 
ing a  finer  effect  upon  the  ear,  they  must  be  equally  free 
from  mouthing. 

A  control  over  quantity^  or  the  power  to  extend  the  time 
of  a  syllable  without  deforming  its  utterance,  is  of  all  the 
requisites  of  good  reading  and  speaking  least  under  the 
command  of  the  uncultivated  voice.  It  comprehends 
many  of  the  most  beautiful  effects  in  elevated  and  ex- 
pressive language,  for,  in  extending  the  duration  of 
syllables,  it  increases  their  capacity  for  taking  on  many  ex- 
pressive effects  which  require  time  for  their  display.  Quan- 
tity, however,  like  all  the  other  attributes  of  the  voice,  may 
be  cultivated  by  a  proper  order  of  vocal  development. 

77.  Before  leaving  this  subject,  one  important  word  with 
regard  to  the  exactness  of  measurement  in  the  execution 
of  intervals.  In  the  sentences  given  in  which  the  word  or 
element,  in  various  forms  oP  expression,  passes  through  the 
interval  of  a  second  rising  or  falling, — a  third,  a  fifth,  and 
an  octave  respectively, — it  is  not  meant  that  these  intervals 
may  not  vary  from  the  exact  interval  named  in  each  case; 
/.  ^.,  that  the  third  may  not  approximate  to  the  fourth,  the 
fifth  to  the  sixth,  or  the  octave  rise  or  fall  beyond  the  limit 
of  an  eighth,  according  to  the  shades,  more  or  less,  of  in- 
tensity, in  the  given  state  of  mind.  The  intervals  given 
are  sufficiently  accurate  for  reference  as  to  measure,  in  the 
treatment  of  speech,  which  is  always  a  solo-vocal  perform- 
ance, and  therefore  does  not  demand  th^  accuracy  of  exe- 
cution in  its  intonation  requisite  to  the  concerting  of  music. 

The  exact  execution  of  both  discrete  and  concrete  inter- 
vals should  be  carefully  observed  in  elemental  practice,  but 
in  their  application  to  reading  and  speaking  the  same  ex- 
actitude is  not  required.     Think  a  third,  or  fifth,  and  where 


Exercises  on  the  Discrete  Intervals.        6^ 

the  ear  and  voice  are  well  trained,  the  voice  will,  in  all 
probability,  be  correct,  a  slight  variation  in  degree  being 
of  1  o  vital  importance  in  the  sum  of  effects, — feeling  is  the 
invcriable  standard. 

7  he  spirit  and  value  of  the  intervals  once  realized,  they 
become  the  elements  by  which  results  may  be  attained  far 
more  valuable,  in  the  true  sense  of  expression,  than  any 
whi:h  arise  from  the  exercise  of  merely  cold  and  formal 
nic(ties  of  mechanical  exactness. 


Chapter  VIII. 
Exercises  on  the  Subtonic  Elements. 

78.  To  produce  a  correct  articulation  of  the  subtonic 
elements,  the  different  positions  of  the  organs  must  be 
carefully  studied. 

(i)  Articulate  slowly  and  distinctly  the  element  e,  as  in 
e-rr^  before  b,  and  observe  that  the  mouth  is  partly  open, 
the  tongue  shortened  and  drawn  back;  while  the  mouth  is 
in  this  position,  sound  ^he  tonic,  then  close  the  mouth, 
hold  the  breath  in  the  larynx,  produce  the  guttural  mur- 
mur, and  the  elementary  sound  of  b  will  be  heard.  Again 
utter  the  sound  of  b^  in  the  syllable  b-ut^  holding  the 
initial  element  as  long  as  possible;  then  reverse  the  letters, 
and  pronounce  the  same  element  as  a  component  of  the 
word  tu-b,  dwelling  on  the  final  sound  until  we  can  ac- 
curately observe  its  organic  formation. 

In  forcibly  uttering  the  word  but,  the  subtonic  gives  ex- 
plosive power  to  the  tonic,  and  becomes  an  element  of 
force  in  expression;  while  in  the  forcible  utterance  of  tub, 
is  heard  the  characteristic  vocule  which  gives  emphatic 
force  to  b,  d,  g,  k,  /,  /,  when  final. 

(2)  In  sounding  the  element  d,  as  heard  in  the  combi- 
nation odd,  the  tongue  rises  from  the  position  of  0,  at  the 
bottom  of  the  slightly  open  mouth,  to  the  inner  part  of  the 
upper  teeth,  aj^d  the  vocal  murmur  of  the  element  is  pro- 
duced at  the  base  of  the  nasal  passages ;  reverse  the  letters, 
grasp  firmly  the  do,  and  we  get  the  percussive  power  of 
the  same  element. 

(68) 


■ 


Exercises  on  the  Subtonic  Elements.        69 

(5)  G  is  produced  by  opening  the  mouth,  retracting 
anc  curving  the  tongue,  prolonging  or  exploding  the 
vocahty  against  the  palate.  Its  formation  may  be  observed 
as  m  the  preceding.  . 

(^)  The  articulation  of  the  subtonic  /  is  formed  by  a 
moderate  opening  of  the  mouth,  and  the  utterance  is  mod- 
ified by  the  pressure  of  the  tongue,  which  lies  exactly  be- 
hind the  upper  front  teeth. 

(5)  M  \%  produced  by  a  gentle  compression  of  the  lips, 
and  a  free  and  steady  expiration  of  vocalized  breath 
thrDugh  the  nostrils.  The  effect  is  that  of  a  murmur  in 
the  head  and  chest  similar  to  that  of  b.  In  intensified  or 
for:ible  utterance  of  this  element,  the  compression  of  the 
Hp;  is  increased,  and  the  vocule,  in  consequence,  more 
forcibly  exploded  on  the  removal  of  the  obstruction. 

( 6)  N  requires  the  same  vocalized  breathing  as  /«,  with 
th(  lips  freely  opened.  The  end  of  the  tongue  is  pushed 
ag;dhst  the  ridge  behind  the  upper  front  teeth. 

7)  R,  as  heard  in  r-ap,  r-oll,  is  usually  found  at  or 
ne  ir  the  beginning  of  a  syllable,  and  is  formed  by  an 
energetic  vibration  of  the  tip  of  the  tongue  against  the 
ricge  of  the  upper  gum,  accompanied  by  a  partial  vocality. 
Tl  e  vibration  should  be  but  momentary,  consisting  of  but 
one  "slap  and  retraction  of  the  tongue,"  otherwise  it  be- 
coiies  "rolled"  or  "trilled,"  producing  an  unpleasant  or 
afl  acted  utterance  of  this  element.  This  is  called  the 
in  Hal,  vibrant,  percussive  r.  The  organic  movement  may 
bt  observed  during  an  energetic  pronunciation  of  the 
w(  )rd  f-rilL  This  is  the  only  subtonic  element  which  does 
nc  t  admit  of  extension  in  time.  It  never  occurs  before  a 
cc  nsonant. 

(8)  R,  as  in  fa-r,  is  a  softer  and  more  extended  sound 
thin  the  vibrant  r.  In  its  production,  the  tongue  is  short- 
ei  ed  and  slightly  raised  toward  the  root,  but  does  not 
a(  tually  touch  the  roof  of  the  mouth.     It  is  called  the  soft 


JO  Murdoch' s  Elocution. 

or  final  r.  It  has  nearly  as  pure  a  vocality  as  the  tonics, 
taking  upon  itself  the  full  force  (or  value)  of  the  tonic  by 
which  it  is  preceded.  This  element  precedes,  but  never 
follows  a  consonant. 

(9)  In  ng,  the  vocalized  breathing  is  driven  with  consid- 
erable force  against  the  nasal  passages  and  the  back  of  the 
veil  of  the  palate.  By  a  retraction  of  the  tongue,  it  rever- 
berates in  the  nasal  passages,  where  it  acquires  its  peculiar 
ringing  sound. 

(10)  F"  is  articulated  by  bringing  the  upper  fore  teeth 
close  upon  the  ridge  of  the  under  lip,  and  by  send- 
ing a  murmuring  resonance  (produced  in  both  the  head 
and  chest),  along  with  the  breath,  against  the  interposed 
obstacle.  The  upper  lip  is  slightly  raised  at  the  same 
moment. 

(11)  Z,  as  in  z-one,  is  formed  by  pressing  the  edges  of 
the  tongue  (near  the  tip),  to  the  roof  of  the  mouth,  near 
the  front  teeth.  The  vocalized  breath  is  driven  through 
the  small  aperture  thus  made,  causing  a  slight  vibration. 

(12)  Z,  as  in  az-ure,  has  a  very  limited  vocality.  The 
whole  fore  part  of  the  tongue  is  raised  toward  the  roof  of 
the  mouth,  while  the  sound  passes  between  it  and  the 
teeth,  producing  zh. 

(13)  Y,  as  in  y-ou  or  y-e^  is  executed  by  op*ening  the 
mouth,  curving  and  retracting  the  tongue  with  great  force, 
and  driving  an  aspiration  against  the  palate  with  vocal 
murmur. 

(14)  W,  as  in  Tv-oe,  is  formed  first  by  rounding  the 
lips,  as  in  articulating  00,  in  ooze,  an  exceedingly  brief 
vocal  murmur,  which  is  modified  by  the  larynx,  then  es- 
capes through  the  lips  and  nostrils.  As  b,  d,  g,  and  z/i  are 
formed  by  using  vocality  instead  of  aspiration  with  the 
organic  positions  of  /,  /,  k,  and  sh;  so  y  and  w  are  the 
mixture  of  vocality  with  the  aspiration  of  k,  as  heard  in 
/t-e,  and  of  w/i,  in  wh-irled.      If  we  substitute  the  vocal 


Exercises  on  the  Subtonic  Elements.        71 

murmur  for  pure  aspiration,  we  change  these  words  he  to 
ye,  and  whirled  to  world.^  Th,  as  in  th-en,  is  produced 
by  directing  the  vocalized  emission  of  the  breath  through 
a  slight  horizontal  parting  of  the  lips,  while  the  end  of  the 
torgue  is  forcibly  pressed  between  the  teeth.  This  ele- 
ment thus  differs  from  the  aspirated  th,  as  heard  in  th-ick. 
79.  (i)  Pronounce  the  words  in  Table  I  firmly  and  de- 
liberately, so  that  both  elements  (where  they  occur  twice), 
art  distinctly  heard.  Then  pronounce  the  words  forcibly, 
emphasizing  the  initial  elements. 

Table  I. — Subtonic  Elements. 


b,     as 

in     b-2.-bQ.. 

ng,     as 

in     si-n^. 

d, 

d-x-d. 

V,          * 

*        v-al-ve. 

g. 

g-'^-g- 

z, 

*         z-one. 

') 

l-xx-ll. 

z, 

'        a-2-ure 

m, 

"         m-2\-m. 

y.>     ' 

7-e. 

n, 

'        n-n-n. 

w,         ' 

•         jez-oe. 

r, 

*         ^--a-p. 

th,    * 

'        M-en. 

r, 

"         ta-r. 

[2)   Pronounce   syllables  in  Table  II,  firmly  holding  or 
sustaining  vocal  murmur  of  final  elements. 


II. 


uA 

e-/, 

e-v, 

e-zk, 

u-^, 

e-m, 

e-/, 

^•*tg. 

u-^, 

e-u. 

e-//^, 

a-r. 

*  Teachers  should  note  this  fact,  and  strictly  observe  the  articu- 
lar ion  of  their  pupils  in  executing  such  words  as  are  likely  to  be 
CO  ifounded  in  the  same  movement.  The  words  wAaf,  which,  and 
wi  eat,  for  example,  are  very  generally  deprived  of  the  aspiration 
w  dch  distinctly  marks  their  correct  pronunciation. 


72 


Murdoch' s  Elocution. 


(3)  Sound  simple  elements,  Table  III,  taking  great  care 
not  to  give  a  tonic  also. 


III. 


B.       . 

L, 

Ng, 

Zh, 

Th, 

D, 

M, 

V, 

Y, 

R,  vibrant* 

G, 

N, 

z, 

W, 

R,  soft. 

80.  The  difficulty  experienced  by  some  persons  in  pro- 
ducing the  vibrant  r,  and  the  fault  of  continuing  the  vibra- 
tion too  long,  or  a  lack  of  ability  to  coalesce  this  element 
with  others,  causing  an  effort  as  though  two  impulses  were 
made,  thus :  e-r-r,  r-oll,  or  de-r-r-r-a,  may  be  avoided  by 
practicing  the  r,  in  combination  with  other  elements,  with 
great  rapidity,  on  the  following  words: 


IV. 


Tread, 

Dread, 

Brave, 

Sprig, 

Grave, 

Reach, 

Trill, 

Drink, 

Brink, 

Spread, 

Groan, 

Rage, 

Trick, 

Dream, 

Bread, 

Preach, 

Grape, 

Rend, 

Trail, 

Drop, 

Cry, 

Prick, 

Grieve, 

Roll, 

Track, 

Strike, 

Crowd, 

Prance, 

Raw, 

Roar, 

Trance, 

Stream, 

Crash, 

Prowl, 

Ride, 

Rude, 

Stroke, 

Stride, 

Crush, 

Pray, 

Rail, 

Rise. 

Strain, 

Straight, 

Spry, 

Prate, 

Rain, 

81.  After  holding  the  initial  sounds  in  Table  V,  so  that 
the  strong  vocal  murmur  can  be  heard  and  felt,  burst  them 
into  each  of  the  succeeding  tonics,  making  short  words, 
as:  ba,  bee,  bi,  etc.  There  must  be  no  hiatus  between 
the  elements,  and  yet  the  initial  subtonic  must  not  be  an 
ineffective,  slovenly  sound,  made  so  rapidly  that  it  is  lost 
in  the  syllable.  The  practice  is  to  impart  to  the  organs 
not  only  the  ability   to  grasp  with   power  the  initial  sub- 


Omitted  in  exercises  on  extending  the  sounds. 


I 


Exercises  on  the  Subtonic  Elements.        73 

tonics,  but  to  forcibly  drive  its  strength  immediately  into 
the  radical  fullness  of  the  tonic,  producing  an  intensified 
radical  stress.  Then  let  each  of  the  syllables  containing 
the  long  vowels  be  carried  through  the  intervals  of  in- 
tonation. See  Tables  of  Notation,  Chapter  VII.  The 
force  of  the  initial  subtonic  will  give  directness  to  the 
positive  down  sweep  of  the  wider  falling  concretes. 


V. 


b. — a,  e,  1,  6,  u,  oi,  ou. 

i. — a,  e,  i,  o,  u,  oi,  ou. 

%. — a,  e,  i,  o,  u,  oi,  ou. 

1. — a,  e,  i,  o,  u,  oi,  ou. 

II. — a,  e,  i,  o,  u,  oi,  ou. 

n. — a,  e,  i,  o,  u,  oi,  ou. 


Initial 

r.— a, 

e, 

i,  0, 

u, 

oi. 

ou 

«' 

V. — a. 

e, 

i,  0, 

u, 

oi. 

ou 

" 

z. — a. 

e. 

i,  0, 

u. 

oi, 

ou 

" 

w.— a. 

e, 

i,   0, 

u, 

oi, 

ou 

" 

th.— a, 

e» 

i,  0, 

u, 

oi, 

ou 

82.  In  Table  VI,  it  will  be  seen,  short  syllables  are 
proiuced  by  placing  each  of  the  long  tonics  successively 
before  each  subtonic  sound  that  may  close  a  syllable  or 
become  a  final  element;  as,  abe^  eeb,  ibe,  etc. 

( i)  Utter  each  of  these  syllables  with  slight  radical 
opening,  and  prolonged  holding  or  sustaining  of  the  final 
sul  tonic  strongly  or  firmly,  on  a  level  line  of  pitch, 
terminating  with  forcible  utterance  of  the  abrupt  vocule. 
Th  i  protracting  of  vocal  murmur  on  a  level  line  of 
pit':h  is  simply  for  the  purposes  of  vocal  culture,  as  this 
is  he  holding,  pharyngeal  power  through  which  the  full 
extent  of  resonant  murmur  or  reverberating  vocality  of 
the  subtonic  sounds  is  developed.  They  may  be  carried 
dirxtly  through  the  concrete  intervals.  Next,  through  the 
pri  icipal  forms  of  the  wave.  In  these  forms,  it  will  be 
ob  erved,  the  vocule  of"  the  subtonic  becomes  almost  im- 
pel ceptible,  lessening  in  proportion  as  they  become  ele- 
mt  tits  of  grace  instead  of  force. 

M.  E.— 7. 


74 


Miu'doc/is  Elocution, 


VI. 


a.— b,  d,  g,  V,  m,  n,  z. 

e. — b,  d,  g,  V,  m,   n,  z. 

i. — b,  d,  g,  V,  m,  n,  z. 

6. — b,  d,  g,  V,  m,  n,  z. 

u, — b,  d,  g,  V,  m,  n,  z. 


a. — b,  d,  g,  V,  m,  n,  z. 

6. — b,  d,  g,  V,  m,  n,  z. 

I.— b,  d,  g,  V,  m,  n,  z. 

6.— b,  d,  g,  V,  m,  n,  z. 

(i. — b,  d,  g,  V,  m,  n,  z, 


83.  In  pronouncing  the  following  words,  let  them  be 
uttered  with  deliberate  force,  holding  the  initial  letter  with 
vocal  murmur  long  enough  to  hear  and  feel  its  character- 
istic sound  and  action.  Then  let  the  practice  be  given 
more  rapidly : 

Bad — boys — boasting — brag.  But  —  bold  —  bears  —  bite  —  badly. 
Donkeys  —  don't — dare — danger — daring — deeds — doubtful.  Old  — 
standards — stand — steadily.  Grand — bland — logic — made — modern — 
muddle — legal.  "While — rude — winds — roared — gentle — lambs — nib- 
bled— daintily.  Savage — leopards — ramped — and — raved.  Sturdy — 
striders — strode — staunchly. 


VII. 


Bade, 

Mull, 

Wren, 

Yearn, 

Mab, 

Gun, 

Log, 

Den, 

Bug, 

Dog, 

Glum, 

Noll, 

Dub, 

Nod, 

Dug, 

Vice, 

Babe, 

Dun, 

Mob, 

Wed, 

Nab, 

Mud, 

Nun, 

Gab, 

Doll, 

Glen, 

Woe, 

Man, 

Lad, 

Mum, 

Vine, 

Gull, 

Mue, 

Nine, 

Wan, 

Bad, 

Bed, 

No, 

Gat, 

Note, 

Song, 

Buzz, 

Seize, 

Dame, 

Now, 

Bang, 

Please, 

Dam, 

Not, 

Hung, 

Treasure, 

Lame, 

Rat, 

Bab, 

You, 

Late, 

Rack, 

Vane, 

Yore, 

Loll, 

Ray, 

Van, 

Yet, 

Rye, 

Void, 

We, 

Me, 

Ring, 

Lest, 

Wine, 

My, 

Near, 

Wheeze, 

Mow, 

Ear, 

Froze, 

Won, 

Burst, 

War, 

Dawn, 

They, 

Blast, 

Lag, 

Mouth 

This, 

Rang, 

Loaf, 

Bale, 

Thine, 

Brag, 

Dive, 

Dane, 

Way, 

Wove, 

Valve, 

Yell, 

Thee, 

Dew, 

Zaney, 

Seizure, 

Live, 

Boy, 

Graze, 

Wand, 

There, 

Yarn, 

Guy, 

Day, 

That, 

Blind, 

Maze, 

Wreath, 

Grove, 

Love, 

Yawn, 

Thy, 

Daze, 

Zion, 

Loathe, 

Lithe. 

Exercises  on  the  Subtonic  Elements.        75 

^ 

84.  All  of  the  syllables  in  Table  VII  terminating  with  a 
sub  conic,  preceded  by  a  long  tonic,  should  be  carried  with 
less  percussive  initial  force,  and  with  a  view  to  prolong- 
ing the  final  element  through  all  the  intervals  of  intona- 
tior ,   both  upward  and  downward. 


Chapter  IX. 

Exercises  on  the  Atonic  Elements. 

85.  Table  of  the  Atonic  Elements. 


P,  as  in  p-\pe. 

T,  as  in  t-eni. 

C  (hard)  and  k,  as  in  c-zJiq. 

Fy  as  in  f-\ft. 

C  (soft)  and  s,  as  in  f-eaje. 


H,  as  in  h-e. 

Wh,       •'  wh-tZii. 

Th,       "  th-vci. 

Sh,       *'  pu-j^. 


(i)  The 'Atonic  /  is  produced  by  an  intense  compression 
of  the  lips,  immediately  followed  by  a  whispered  or  aspi- 
rated explosion.* 

{2)  In  executing  /,  the  end  of  the  tongue  is  strongly 
pressed  against  the  roof  of  the  mouth,  and  an  aspirated 
explosion  is  made  on  the  instant  of  its  withdrawal. 

(3)  K  is  produced  by  opening  the  mouth,  retracting  and 
curving  the  tongue,  while  an  aspiration  is  exploded  against 
the  palate. 

(4)  F  is  executed  by  a  forcible  compression  of  the  teeth 
upon  the  lips,  while  the  breath  is  driven  against  them. 

(5)  S  or  c  (soft),  as  in  the  word  cease,  is  formed  by 
pressing  the  sides  of  the  tongue  against  the  roof  of  the 
mouth,    and   driving  through   the   small   aperture   between 


m 


*The    distinctness    of   elemental    practice,  if   carried    too  far 
reading   or    speech,    becomes    a    defect,    and    should    be    guarded 
against,  particularly  in  /,  t,  and  k. 
(76) 


Exercises  on  the  Atonic  Elements.  j'j 

the  tip  and  interior  ridge  of  gum  the  aspirated  breath. 
Th  s  forms  the  characteristic  sibillation  or  hiss  of  this  ele- 
me  It. 

(6)  ^  is  formed  by  a  forcible  emission  of  the  breath  in 
the  form  of  a  whisper,  through  the  moderately  open  organs 
of  speech. 

(7)  Wh  is  executed  by  suddenly  driving  the  aspirated 
breath  through  the  lips  opened  in  the  position  for  whist- 
ling;. 

(S)  Th,  as  in  thin,  is  produced  by  a  forcible  aspiration 
through  the  slightly  parted  lips,  while  the  end  of  the 
tongue  lies  between  and   presses  against   the  upper   teeth. 

(5)  Sh  is  formed  liked  z,  in  azure,  as  regards  organic 
position,  but  is  aspirated  instead  of  vocalized. 

''he  atonies  have  a  feeble  vocule,  but  no  vocality,  per- 
form no  part  in  intonation,  and  are  therefore  inferior  to 
the  other  elements  for  purposes  of  vocal  exercise.  A  prac- 
tice on  these  elements,  however,  contributes  to  the  me- 
chanical facility  of  the  organs  in  articulation. 

86.  (i)  Articulate  each  syllable  in  Table  I  distinctly. 
Thm  repeat,  holding  the  final  or  atonic  element  for  a 
monent,  and  then  letting  the  breath  escape  from  the 
orgms  with  abruptness.  This  will  produce  the  vocule,  or 
little  voice,  of  the  elements  /,  /,  k,  f,  and  th.  The  re- 
ma  ning  atonic  elements  producing  no  occlusion  (or  but 
little)  in  their  formation,  are  almost  without  the  vocule. 

(2)  Next  utter  the  simple  aspirated  elements,  as  in  the 
foil  )wing  table,  with  emphatic  force : 

II. 


P! 

K! 

S! 

Wh! 

T! 

F! 

H! 

Sh! 
Th! 

(5)  Pronounce  the  following  words  with  distinct  articula- 
tion of  every  element  in  combination. 


78 


MurdocJis  Elocution. 


Fright, 

Cnff, 

iTaul, 


^old, 

S'lss, 

Sweep, 

SAock, 

Swisk, 


III. 

^y^ale,  7a/, 

PVJtat,  Fife, 

M/h\f,  Wi/e, 

ThTQSit,  Hzh, 

ThvfdLXt,  Hzxm, 


Hzxk, 
\ce, 

5/iame, 
Shot, 


Whexe, 

Whence, 

Thick, 

Dea///, 

Thditik. 


(4)  Pronounce  the  words  in  the  following  table,  "hold- 
ing "  the  initial  letter  firmly  for  a  moment,  and  then  letting 
the  sound  break  abruptly  from  the  first  atonic  into  the 
tonic,  and  terminating  the  syllable  with  the  second  atonic, 
giving  its  vocule  distinctly. 

It  must  be  carefully  noted  that  in  pronouncing  the 
syllable  no  hiatus  occurs  between  the  sound  of  the  aspirate 
element  and  the  tonic,  but  that  the  former,  after  a  mo- 
mentary holding,  must  instantaneously  open  into  the  latter. 
The  same  thing  has  been  pointed  out  as  applying  to  the 
subtonic  elements  when  they  precede  the  tonics. 


IV. 


Peck, 

Fife, 

Thick, 

A'iss, 

T\p, 

Sick, 

Shut, 

Heath.  'X 

Rob, 

ffnsh, 

IVAeat. 

I 


87.  Let  these  tables  be  often  and  carefully  repeated,  ob- 
serving a  correct  use  of  the  breath,  as  suggested  by  the 
directions  for  breathing  in  the  preceding  exercises.  The 
rule  for  the  correct  sounding  of  the  final  subtonics  and 
atonies  is  to  stop  the  breath  with  the  separation  of  the 
organs,  otherwise  there  is  likely  to  occur  an  after  puff  or 
aspiration;  as,   lip-ah,   did-ah,   and-ah. 

The  utmost  rigor  of  attention  on  the  part  of  the  student 
is  required  to  guard  against  the  evils  arising  from  bad 
elementary  training. 


Miscellaneous  Exercises.  79 


Exercises   on    Short    Tonics,    Abrupt    Subtonic,    and 
Atonic  Elements. 

88.  (i)  First  cough  out  the  tonic  elements.  Then  artic- 
ulate tonic  element  with  explosive  force  in  pure  vocality. 
Nex:,  utter  entire  syllable  in  the  columns  of  Table  V 
•vith  forcible  distinctness. 

m 

V. 

A-i/J,  A-afl^,  A-a^,  A-a/,  A -a/,  A-a^, 

Y.-ib,  E-e^,  E-e^,  E-eA  E-e/,  E-e/t, 

I-iS  I-i^,  I-i^,  I-i/,  I-ip,  \-\k^ 

Oo^,  ,     O-od,  O-og,  O-o/,  0-0/,  O-oy^, 

U-a^.  U-u^.  U-u^.  U-uA  U-u/.  U-uy6. 

(2)  First  give  the  elemental  sound  of  the  subtonics  and 
atorics  in  the  columns  of  Table  VI,  holding  on  to  the 
guttaral  murmur  of  the  former,  and  to  the  organic  posi- 
tion for  the  latter,  and  closing  with  the  vocule.  Then 
prohounce  syllables  distinctly,  and  with  force.  After  the 
vocule  of  the  atonies  and  subtonics  is  brought  under  con- 
trol of  the  organs,  lessen  the  force  on  those  terminative 
sounds  to  the  utmost  delicacy  of  touch.  If  employed 
beyorrd  the  effect  of  delicate  precision  in  ordinary  articu' 
latic  n,  the  vocule  produces  an  unpleasant  and  pedantic 
effec  :t. 

VI. 


B-a3, 

B-e^ 

B-i<J, 

B-o^, 

B-u3, 

D-a^, 

D-eo', 

D-ifl', 

Vt-od, 

D-ud?, 

(i-a^, 

G-e^-, 

G-i^, 

Q-og, 

G-u^, 

r-a/, 

T-e/, 

T-i/-, 

T-o/, 

T-u/, 

P-a/, 

P-e/, 

P-i/, 

P-o/, 

P-u/, 

K-a/t. 

K-e/C', 

Y^-xk. 

K-o/^. 

K-u>^.- 

*  The  teacher  may  transfer  these  exercises  to  the  blackboard, 
and  diversify  the  mode  of  exercise  so  as  to  embrace  a  varied  range 
of  1  risk  and  rapid  practice  of  the  organs  in  the  execution  of  the 
elen  ents. 


8o  Murdoch's  Elocution. 

89.  The  exercise  on  Table  VII  is  to  secure  facility  of 
organic  action  in  the  utterance  of  those  combinations 
where  the  subtonic  or  atonic  elements  are  repeated  at 
the  different  syllabic  extremes,  as  in  at-tire.  This  is 
effected,  not  by  separating  the  organs  on  the  first  sound 
before  uttering  the  latter,  but  by  a  renewed  forcible  exer- 
tion of  the  organs,  which  increases  and  prolongs  the 
sound  of  the  vocal  murmur  of  the  subtonic,  and  gives  pre- 
cision to  the  atonic.  This  practice  on  the  doubling  of  the 
element,  therefore,  imparts  the  "holding  power"  to  the 
organs  on  these  elements. 


VII. 


At-tack, 

Op-pose, 

Im-mense, 

Ad-dress, 

Oc-cur, 

In-ner, 

Ap-peal, 

Oc-casion, 

Up-per, 

Ap-proach, 

Oc-cuh, 

Ut-ter, 

,  At-test," 

Ef-fuse, 

Sup-port, 

Ap-pear, 

Ef-f€ct, 

Sup-press, 

At-tempt, 

Ag-gressor, 

Sup-ply, 

Ac-cuse, 

Im-merse, 

At-tach. 

90.  The  constant  repetition  of  exercises  on  the  elements, 
in  every  possible  combination,  is  not  only  for  perfecting 
the  concrete  movement,  but  it  is  the  means  by  which  the 
voice  is  improved,  and  in  many  cases  built.  They  are  of 
the  same  value  as  the  practice  of  do,  re,  mi,  upon  the 
scales  in  cultivating  the  voice  for  singing. 

The  concrete  is  the  vital  principle  in  the  perfection  of 
speech;  it  marks  the  difference  between  the  "hurried, 
clipped  sounds  heard  in  the  voice  of  trade  or  traffic,"  and 
the  elegance  of  perfected  speech  of  the  pulpit,  the  bar, 
and  the  stage,  or  wherever  cultivation  impresses  itself 
upon  the  ear  through  those  musically  mellow  and  forcibly 
delicate  intonations  that  charm  the  hearer. 

This  portion  of  our  subject  is  treated  in  the  most  mas- 
terly manner  by  Rush  in  his  section  upon  syllabication.     I 


Miscellaneous  Exercises. 


hac  expected  to  introduce  it  into  my  manual,  but  space 
forl)ids.  I  can  only  here  repeat  that  every  syllable  must 
pass  through  a  concrete  on  some  interval  of  the  scale,  and 
exf  lain  that  it  derives  its  singleness  of  impulse  and  length 
from  certain  relations  existing  between  this  concrete  func- 
tion and  the  three  classes  of  elements:  tonic,  atonic,  and 
sut  tonic. 

CI.  Every  syllabic  combination  has  its  purpose  in  the 
ex]  ression  of  speech ;  those  elements  and  combinations 
of  elements  which  are  lacking  in  the  more  agreeable  qual- 
ities, fulfill  an  essential  office  in  the  force  and  energy  of 
utterance. 

The  tendency  in  the  general  treatment  of  spoken  language 
seems  to  be  to  slight  the  importance  of  the  consonant  ele- 
meits  (subtonics  and  atonies)  beyond  that  of  their  mere 
art  culative  functions.  The  subtonics,  in  addition  to  the 
resDnant  beauty  of  their  vocal  murmur,  and  their  capacity 
for  prolongation  as  final  elements  of  syllables,  are  also  ele- 
ments of  great  force.  They  are  the  means  by  which  it 
may  be  said  one  grasps  or  holds  a  word  under  the  control 
of  the  organs;  or  they  may  be  called  (together  with  the 
abiupt  atonies),  when  used  initially,  the  slings,  by  whose 
mctive  power  the  tonics  are  projected  from  the  mouth  in 
ex])ressive  utterance,  or  in  positive  or  enforced  articu- 
lat  on. 

f  grace  and  beauty  alone  were  to  be  considered  in  the 
utterance  of  language,  it  would  lose  much  of  its  expressive 
ch  iracter  arising  from  these  elements,  which,  owing  to  the 
peculiar  relations  existing  between  them  and  the  tonics, 
ad  1  to  its  strength  and  intensity.  A  careful  analysis  of 
wcrds  will  also  show  the  expressive  value  of  the  atonies 
be  ;ide  their  mere  mechanical  functions  in  articulation. 

)2.  Sheridan,  who  seems  to  have  appreciated  the  real 
va  ue  of  the  consonants  more  than  almost  any  other  writer 
be  :bre   Rush,   says :    *  *  Nothing  is  more   common   than   to 


82  MurdocJi  s  Elocution. 

hear  natives  of  this  country  (England)  acknowledging  the 
justness  of  the  charge  which  foreigners  make  against  the 
English  tongue,  that  of  abounding  too  much  in  consonants; 
and  yet,  upon  a  fair  examination,  it  would  appear  that  we 
have  no  more  than  what  contribute  to  strength  and  expres- 
sion. If  the  vowels  be  considered  as  the  blood,  the  con- 
sonants are  the  nerves  and  sinews  of  a  language."  And 
again:  *'As  the  blending  of  vowels  in  dipthongs  gives  the 
greatest  sweetness  to  syllables,  so  the  union  of  two  or  more 
consonants  gives  the  greatest  strength." 

93.  Smart,  in  speaking  of  the  benefits  of  a  "cultivated 
utterance  of  the  consonants,"  says: 

**  It  is  understood  that  a  language  is  harmonious  in  proportion 
as  it  abounds  with  open  vowel  sounds.  ,  .  .  Doubtless,  in  respect 
to  melody  alone,  such  a  language  must  possess  great  advantages. 
Where  softness,  harmony,  and  sweetness  are  required  in  pastoral  or 
elegiac  poetry,  and  in  that  species  of  eloquence  where  the  object 
is  only  to  please  and  captivate,  it  will  be  used  with  great  effect. 
But  when  we  intend  to  be  strong  and  nervous,  to  rouse  and 
animate,  whence  is  to  come  the  corresponding  energy  in  the  lan- 
guage? ...  In  fact,  real  energy  of  pronunciation  [delivery]  does 
not  consist  in  a  vociferate  utterance,  but  in  active  and  forcible  ex- 
ertion of  the  organs;  and  if  a  language  gives  no  room  for  any  ex- 
ertion of  this  kind,  if  to  pronounce  it  properly  the  whole  flow  of 
language  must  roll  upon  the  vowels,  and  the  consonants  be  little 
dwelt  upon,  however  harmonious  such  a  language  would  be,  it 
would  want  strength  and  vigor.  It  is  certain  that  the  English 
tongue  is  not  chargeable  with  defects  of  this  kind.  On  the  con- 
trary, the  number  of  its  monosyllables,  which  so  often  begin  or  end 
with  clusters  of  consonants,  and  the  frequent  practice  of  shortening 
or  entirely  shutting  the  vowel  sounds,  have  been  the  cause  of  tax- 
ing it  with  harshness.  But,  in  this  respect,  it  is  presumed  much 
depends  on  the  person  who  pronounces  it^  because  there  are  proofs 
that  some  consonants  are  capable  of  harmonious  effects,  and  if  care 
be  taken  in  uttering  them,  may  supply  the  want  of  a  greater  number 
of  sounds  purely  vocal,  at  the  same  time  that  they  preserve  their 
quality  by  adding  strength  to  pronunciation.  As  a  proof  of  the 
tuneful  quality  of  the  vocal  consonants  [subtonics],  we  may  remark 


Division  of  Syllables.  83 

that  a  semi-vowel  [subtonic]  contains  voice  enough  to  be  made  the 
subjtct  of  a  note  in  singing;  that  is  to  say,  if  any  word  ending 
with  a  vocal  consonant — dell,  for  instance — occurred  in  a  song 
under  a  long  note,  it  is  in  the  singer's  power  to  make  nearly  the 
who'e  note  run  upon  the  /.  How  soft  and  harmonious  are  the 
consjnant  sounds  marked  in  italics  in  the  following  lines: 

'  TlAere,  on  bcd%  of  i/iolets  ^lue, 
And  fresh  ^lown  ros&s  washed  in  </ew. 

"  it  is  a  pleasure  to  a  good  reader  or  speaker  when  he  has  such 
sounds  to  utter.  He  dwells  upon  them,  throws  into  them  all  the 
voic'i  they  are  capable  of  receiving,  and  through  their  means  mel- 
lows his  whole  pronunciation." 


Division  of  Syllables  with   Regard  to  their  Quan- 
tity OR  Capacity  for  Extended  Time. 

9^.  The  concrete  is  subject  to  limitations  in  the  syllabic 
structure,  and  the  capacity  of  syllables  for  prolongation  is 
det<;rmined  by  the  character  and  relative  positions  of  the 
■elenentary  constituents.  All  syllables  may  be  divided 
with  reference  to  their  quantity,  as  affected  by  these  con- 
ditions, into  three  general  classes: 

I  irst,  those  which  can  not  be  prolonged  without  deform- 
ing their  utterance  or  destroying  their  correct  pronuncia- 
tioi .  These  are  the  shortest  syllables  in  the  language,  and 
are  called,  from  their  unchangeable  quantity,  immutable 
syllables.  They  comprehend  the  most  of  those  wherein 
the  concrete  is  terminated  with  an  abrupt  atonic  element, 
pre:eded  by  a  tonic  and  subtonic,  or  by  a  tonic  and  one 
or  more  atonies.  Thus,  in  the  following  words  the  sylla- 
ble j  italicized  are  immutable.  Articulate  the  words,  and 
try  to  make  these  syllables  longer  than  their  usual  short 
utt  ;rance  attendant  upon  the  arrangement  of  their  ele- 
ments, and  the  result  will  be  a  deformity  that  will  be  at 
on<:e  rejected  by  the  most  undiscriminating  ear. 


84  Murdochs  Elocution. 

*'Thou  /aZ-tered,  starveling  ///-start." 

^^VW.  fight  till  from  my  bones  my  flesh  be  hack-tdL^ 

**Spit  forth  thy  spleen." 

"Tried  and  con-vict-Qdi  traitor."  • 

95.  The  second  class  of  syllables  are  those  restricted 
in  quantity,  but  still  possessing  a  certain  power  of  ex- 
tension. These  are  composed  of  an  abrupt  terminating 
element,  preceded  by  a  tonic  and  one  or  more  subtonics, 
with,  in  some  cases,  an  additional  atonic  or  atonies.  The 
power  of  prolongation  in  these  syllables  lies  in  their  sub- 
tonic  and  tonic  sounds,  but  is  limited  to  only  a  moderate 
extension  of  time  by  the  terminating  abrupt  element. 
From  this  slight  power  of  variation  in  respect  of  quantity, 
they  are  called  mutable  syllables.  Of  such  are  these  itali- 
cized in  the  following  sentences: 

'^  Bu5-h\e,  bub-hle,  toil  and  trouAAe." 

**  What  news?  " 

"I  am  no  mate  for  you." 

John  struck  James. 

You  can  not  make  him  do  it. 

96.  The  third  class  consists  of  syllables  capable  of  in- 
definite prolongation,  and  are  hence  called  indefinite  sylla- 
bles. They  comprehend  all  that  are  terminated  by  a  tonic 
or  subtonic,  except  b,  d,  and  g.  Of  such  are  the  follow- 
ing: 

**  "Re-ware  the  thane  of  Fife." 
^^  Hail,  holy  light." 
"Chieftains,  fore-^^ — " 
"Old  ocean  rolls. ^^ 
''Blow,  bugle,  blcrw:' 

These  syllables  may  also  be  uttered  with  as  short  quan- 
tity as  the  immutables,  but  their  capacity  for  quantity  or 
extension  in  time  arising  from  the  character  and  arrange- 
ment of  their  elements,  is  the  point  (or  principle)  consid- 
ered in  the  present  division. 


Chapter  X. 

Exercises  on  the  Elements  in  Syllabic  Combinations. 
Tonic  Elements. 

97.  The  following  exercise  is  intended  to  fix  the  atten- 
tioi  more  closely  on  each  tonic  element,  as  it  occurs  in 
woids  and  syllables,  with  special  reference  to  its  clear, 
rad  cal  opening. 

([)  Let  the  columns  of  words  be  given  as  individual 
utt(  ranees,  complete  and  separate,  with  deliberate  opening 
abruptness  of  the  initial  element,  graduated  from  clear 
exactness  to  explosive  force. 

(2)  Let  them,  then,  be  repeated  across  the  page,  with 
inc  eased  rapidity  of  succession  at  each  repetition,  thus 
seciring  to  the  organs  the  ability  to  pass  rapidly  from  one 
utt<;rance  to  the  next.  Each  syllable,  however,  must  be 
dis  inctly  uttered. 

(5)  Take  the  same  words  arranged  in  sentential  form, 
firs;  uttering  them  with  abruptness,  graduated  in  force  on 
the  initial,  in  the  same  manner  as  in  the  exercises  on  the 
colimns. 

TText,  read  the  words  with  moderate  force,  and  with 
ref  ;rence  to  the  connection  in  groups,  as  indicated  by  the 
di\  iding  bar. 

A  third  repetition  will  be  found  of  great  benefit,  as 
regards  the  formation  of  habits  of  exact  and  clear  enunci- 
ati<  m,  by  .  accustoming  the  organs  to  repeat  the  sentence 
wiih  force  and  rapidity  of  movement,  gradually  diminished 

(85) 


86 


MurdocJis  Elocution. 


at  each  repetition,  but  with  a  perfectly  accurate  enforce- 
ment of  the  abrupt  utterance  of  the  initial  of  the  tonic 
elements.  The  peculiar  object  of  such  an  exercise  is  to 
bring  together  certain  elementary  combinations  in  the 
closest  succession,  without  special  regard  to  connected  suc- 
cession of  sense,  but  to  secure  precision  and  facility  of 
organic  act.  Enforced  radical  stress  in  plain  articulation, 
however,  makes  every  word  emphatic;  the  force,  when 
once  acquired,  should  therefore  be  lessened  to  a  clear,  full 
opening  of  the  words  only.* 


Aid, 

If, 

Our, 

In, 

Oil, 

Olden, 

Extra, 

Over, 

Utter, 

Erring, 

Ounce, 

Action, 

Aged, 

Urn, 

Itch, 

Ailing, 

Ever, 

Artful, 

Air. 

Agitate, 

An, 

Offer, 

Early, 

Ell, 

Occupy, 

Eel, 

Ugly, 

Agate, 

Inkling, 

Awful, 

It, 

Ooze, 

Elk, 

Actor, 

Angry. 

Owner, 

Impish, 

Ilk, 

Oats, 

Anger, 

Outer, 

Eat. 

Upper, 

Out, 

out. 

Out, 

Ictus, 

98*— I. 

old, 
age, 

At,^ 

On, 

aroint, 
ye. 

1 

"Out,  I  out,  I  old  age!  |  aroint  ye!"  | 


II. 


An 

in, 

awful. 

of, 

out, 

uttered, 

old, 

owl, 

outcry, 

attic. 

order. 

empty. 

*  The  teacher  will  find  great  assistance  in  his  endeavors  to  se- 
cure a  proper  execution,  on  the  part  of  his  pupils,  of  the  various 
degrees  of  abruptness  and  force  of  which  the  tonic  element  is  capa- 
ble, by  placing  such  exercises  on  the  blackboard  for  class  work. 
These  exercises  can  also  be  varied  and  simplified  for  a  class  of 
beginners,  and  enlarged  upon  for  the  use  of  adults,  as  the  good 
sense  and  experience  of  the  master  may  direct. 


Exercises  in  Syllabic   Combinations.         87 

/.n  owl  I  uttered  |  an  awful  |  outcry  |  in  an  old  empty  attic  |  all 
out  of  order.  | 


III. 


En\  ious, 

artful, 

ignorant. 

despised. 

hated, 

exc'.rated, 

cursed. 

spent. 

paying. 

back, 

bitterness, 

persecutors, 

scorn, 

contempt. 

scorpions, 

cur:., 

all, 

cry, 

offered. 

go, 

reti  rn, 

no. 

more, 

avaunt. 

leave, 

hat;. 

rend. 

dogs. 

tear, 

comfort. 

hypocrites, 

vipers. 

begone. 

condolence. 

"Envious,  artful,  and  ignorant,  |  he  was  despised  and    hated,  | 
exe:rated    and    cursed,  |  by    his    former   associates;  |  his    life    was 
spe  It  I  paying  back  the  bitterness  |  of   his    persecutors  |  with  scorn 
anc   contempt.  | 

"'Scorpions  and  curs  |  are  ye  all!'  \  he  would  cry  |  to    the  few 
wh  )  offered  him  |  condolence  or  comfort.  | 
' '  Go,  I  and  return  |  no  more !  | 

"Avaunt!  |  and    leave    me!  |  or  my  hate  shall    rend,  ]  and   my 
rage  shall  tear,  you!  |  Hypocrites  and  vipers,  |  begone."  | 

'Alone,  alone,  all,  all  alone." 
*An  Austrian  army,  awfully  arrayed." 
'The  air,   the  earth,   the  water." 
'Away! — away! — and  on  we  dash!" 
•'Our  erring  actions  often  end  in  anger." 


SlBTONIC    AND    AtONIC    ELEMENTS    IN    SYLLABIC    COMBINA- 
TIONS. 


99.  The  frequent  and  rapid  change  of  movement  re- 
qi  ired  in  the  different  combinations  of  subtonic  and  atonic 
elements,  renders  a  mechanical  nicety  in  discipline  of  the 
ariculative  organs  an  indispensable  requisite. 

The  articulation  of  such  combinations  will  be  necessarily 
somewhat  formal  at  first,  but  by  frequenl  repetition,  and 
w  th  gradually   increased  rapidity  in  the  successive  utter- 


88 


Murdoch' s  Elocution. 


ance,  ease,  as  well  as  force  and  precision,  will  be  acquired. 
The  student  will  find,  that  perfect  control  over  such  diffi- 
cult combinations  will  render  enunciation  easy  of  accom- 
plishment in  the  flow  of  consecutive  words  in  the  current 
of  discourse. 

Table  of  Atonic  and  Subtonic  Elements  in  Combination. 


Ish 


dd,  bdst,  dr,  bs^  as  in  or-b'd,  pro-b'd'st,  br-and,  ri-bs. 

bl,  did,  bldst,  "      a-ble,  trou-bl'd,  trou-bl'd'st. 

biz,  blst,  bst,  bz,  "  trou-bles,  trou-bl'st,  rob-b'st,  pro-bes. 

dl,  did,  dlz,  dz,  "  can-die,  han-dl'd,  can-dies,  dee-ds. 

dlst,  dr^  "  fon-dl'st,  dr-ove. 

dth,  dths,  •'*  brea-dth,  brea-dths. 

fl,  fld,  flst,  Jlz,  "  fl-ame,  tri-fl'd,  tri-fl'st,  tri-fles. 

ff,fs,/st^ffs,  "  fr-ame,  lau-ghs,  lau-gh'st,  cli-fFs. 

ft,fts,ftst,  "  wa-ft,  wa-fts,  wa-ft'st. 

gd,  gdst,  gist,  **  brag-g'd,  brag-g'd'st,  man-gl'st. 

gl,  gld,  glzy  "  gl-ow,  hag-gled,  man-gles. 

gr,  gs,  gsl,  gd,  *'  gr-ave,  pi-gs,  wa-g'st,  hed-ged. 

il,  kid,  klz,  klst,  "  un-cle,  tin-kl'd,  truc-kles,  truc-kl'st. 

kn,  knd,  knz,  **  blac-ken,  blac-ken'd,  blac-kens. 

hist,  kndst,  kr,  *'  blac-ken'st,  blac-ken'd'st,  cr-oney. 

ks,  kst,  ct,  "  thin-ks,  thin-k'st,  su-ck'd. 

lb,  Ibd,  Ibz,  '<  e-lbe,  bu-lb'd,  bu-lbs. 

Id,  Idz,  Idst,  "  ho-ld,  ho-lds,  ho-ld'st. 

If,  Ifs,  Ift,  Ij,  "  e-lf,  e-lfs,  de-lft-ware,  bu-lge. 

Ik,  Ikt,  Iks,  Ikts,  "  mi-Ik,  mi-lk'd,  si-Iks,  mu-lcts. 

//;/,  Imd,  Imz,  "  e-lm,  whe-lmed,  whe-lms. 

Ip,  Ips,  ipst,  "  he-lp,  he-lps,  he-lp'st. 

Is,  1st,  It,  its,  "  fa-lse,  fa-ll'st,  fe-lt,  ha-lts. 

Iv,  Ivd,  Ivz,  Iz,  "  she-lve,  she-lv'd,  e-lves,  ba-lls. 

,    Isht,    Ith,    Iths,  '*  fi-lch,    fi-lch'd,  hea-lth,  hea-lths. 

md,  mf,  mt,  "  ento-mb'd,  Hu-mph-ry,  atte-mpt. 

7nts,  mz,  mst,  "  atte-mpts,  to-mbs,  ento-mb'st. 

nd,  ndz,  ndst,  "  a-nd,  ba-nds,  se-nd'st. 

nj,  njd,  nz,  "  ra-nge,  ra-ng'd,  fi-ns. 

Ilk,  nks,  nkst,  "  thi-nk,  thi-nks,  thi-nk'st. 

nt,  ntst,  ntz,  nst,  "  se-nt,  wa-nt'st,  wa-nts,  wi-nc'd. 

nsh,  nsht,  ngd,  "  fli-nch,  fli-nch'd,  ha-ng'd. 

ngz,  ngth,  ngths,  "  so-ngs,  stre-ngth,  stre-ngths. 

//,  pld,  plz,  pr,  "  pl-uck,  rip-pled,  rip-pies,  pr-ay. 

plst,  ps,  pst,  "  rip-pl'st,  chi-ps,  nip-p'st. 

rb,  rbd,  rbz,  "  he-rb,  ba-rb'd,  he-rbs. 

rbst,  rbdst,  "  ba-rb'st,  ba-rb'd'st. 

rd,  rds,  rdst^  '•  ba-rd,  ba-rds,  hea-rd'st. 


Exercises  in  Syllabic  Combinations.        89 


rf^  r/t,  rg,  rgz,  rj,  rjd,  as  in 


rk,  rkt,  rks 

rkst,  rkist,  rz. 

rl,  rid,  rlz^ 

rlst,  1-ldst,  rsh 

rm,  rmd,  rmz 

rmst,  rmdst^ 

rn,  rnd,  rnt,  rnz 

rnst,  rndst,  rl, 

rp,  rpt,  rps,  rts, 

rs,  rst,  rsls,  rlsi. 

rch. 

TV,  rvd,  rvz, 

i"vst,  rvdst,  rcht^ 

rlh,  rlhs,  sh,  sht. 

sk,  ski,  sks,  sksl^ 

si,  sld,  sm,  sn 

St,  sir,  sis,  sp,  sps. 

th,  Ihd,  Ihz,  Ihsi, 

th,  Ihm,  thr,  Ihs 

ll,  lid,  tlz 

llsl,  sldsl,  Ir 

Iz,  Isl,  vd,  vdsl, 

vl,  vld,  viz, 

vlst,  vldst,  vsl, 

vn,  vz, 

zl,  zld,  zlz. 

zlst,  zldst, 

zm,  zmz,  cht^ 

zn,  znd,  znz 

znst,  zndst. 


su-rf,  wha-rf'd,  bu-rgh,  bu-rghs,  ba-rge, 

u-rg'd. 
ha-rk,  ha-rk'd,  a-rcs. 
ba-rk'st,  ba-rk'd'st,  e-rrs. 
sna-rl,  hu-rl'd,  sna-rls, 
sna-rl'st,  sna-rl'd'st,    ha-rsh. 
a-rm,  a-rm'd,  a-rms, 
a-rm'st,  a'rm'd'st. 
bu-rn,  bu-rn'd,  bu-rnt,  u-rns. 
ea-rn'st,  ea-rn'd'st,  hea-rt. 
ha-rp,  ha-rp'd,  ha-rps,  hea-rts, 
hea-rse,  fea-r'st,  bu-rsts,  hu-rt'st. 
sea-rch. 

cu-rve,  cu-rv'd,  cu-rves. 
cu-rv'st,  cu-rv'd'st,  sea-rch'd. 
hea-rth,  hea-rths,  sh-ip,  pu-sh'd. 
ma-sk,  ma-sk'd,  ma-sks,  ma-sk'st. 
sl-ay,  ne-stl'd,  sm-oke,  sn-ail. 
st-arve,   str-ong,  bur-sts,   sp-a,   whi-sps. 
th-ine,  wrea-th'd,  wrea-ths,  wrea-th'st. 
th-istle,  rhy-thm,  thr-ough,  hea-tHs. 
lit-tle,  set-tied,  bat-ties, 
set-tl'st,  set-tl'd'st,  tr-avels. 
ha-ts,  comba-t'st,  swer-v'd,  li-v'd'st. 
swi-vel,  dri-vel'd,  dri-vels. 
dri-vel'st,  dri-vel'd'st,  li-v'st. 
dri-ven,  li-ves. 
muz-zle,  muz-zl'd,  muz-zles. 
muz-zl'st,  muz-zl'd'st. 
spa-sm,  spa-sms,  fet-ch'd. 
pri-son,  impri-son'd,  pri-sons. 
impri-son'st,  impri-son'd'st. 


idl  of  the  foregoing  tables  should  be  submitted  to  the 
wh  spering  process  of  exercise  before  directed.  All  tables 
of  exercises  will  receive  additional  efificiency  in  their  prac- 
tice,  where  the  whispered  form  is  introduced  before  or 
aft'T  the  vocal  form. 

I.XERCISES  ON  Words  of  More  than  One  Syllable. 


00.  The  practice  should  next  be  directed  to  the  articu- 
lat  ve  grouping  of  syllables  into  words  of  two  or  more 
sy]  abic  constituents. 

The  rules  which  determine  usage  in  the  matter  of  pro- 
nii  iciatmi  as  regards  the  accent  of  words  of  more  than  one 

M.  E.— 8. 


90  Murdoch's  Elocution. 

syllable,  it  is  not  the  object  of  these  exercises  to  touch 
upon,  the  latter  being  chiefly  concerned  with  the  education 
of  the  organs  to  facility,  energy,  and  beauty  of  utterance. 
For  the  correct  pronunciation  of  words,  the  student  is 
therefore  referred  to  our  standard  dictionaries.  In  learn- 
ing a  word,  the  accented  syllable  should  always  be  learned 
as  soon  as  the  child  studies  accent. 

We  would  recommend,  however,  as  a  valuable  exercise, 
following  in  the  immediate  line  of  our  present  practice, 
the  careful  pronunciation  of  a  column  of  words  every  day 
from  the  page  of  a  standard  dictionary,  with  careful  atten- 
tion to  correct  accentuation  and  smooth  articulation.  This 
will  not  only  familiarize  the  mind  with  standard  usage  in 
the  matter  of  pronunciation,  but  insure  smoothness  and 
energy  of  execution  to  the  articulative  organs  by  thus  con- 
stantly exercising  them  on  every  variety  of  elemental  and 
syllabic  combination. 

The  following  columns  of  words  will  furnish  a  form  of 
exercise  similar  to  the  one  here  recommended,  giving  a 
number  of  difficult  combinations  of  elements.  The  object 
in  view  should  be  to  utter  the  word  distinctly,  yet  preserv- 
ing the  individual  characteristic  sound  of  each  element, 
according  to  its  proper  pronunciation  in  the  word.  This 
exercise  may  be  varied  by  passing  from  a  deliberate  to  a 
rapid  utterance,  and  vice  versa.  After  pronouncing  them 
in  columns,  let  them  be  read  across  the  page,  slowly  at  first, 
but  increasing  the  rate  of  movement  until  the  maximum 
of  rapidity,  consonant  with  distinct  utterance,  is  attained. 
Then  let  the  rate  of  utterance  be  gradually  diminished. 

I. 

^Vowing,  Dancing,  Rabid, 

Flinging,  Storming,  Cubeb, 

Dying,  Buckle.  Deadly, 

Grinning,  Mangle,  Peptic, 

Bringing,  Murmur,  Bib, 


Stubble, 

Tattle, 

Babble, 

Cackle, 

Bubble, 

Having, 

Gabble, 

Ringing, 

Gagging, 

Owing, 

Exercises  in  Syllabic   Combinations. 


Gig, 

Heaven, 

Strengthen, 

Season, 

Criti:, 

Tak(  n, 

Gloaming, 

Uncle, 

Gloc  my, 

Evejiing, 

Singing, 

Ailing, 

Smo  cing, 

Mov  ing, 

Pebl.le, 


Giggle, 

Lengthen, 

Drubbing, 

Shrapnel, 

Mention, 

Reason, 

Mingling, 

Horrible, 

Little, 

Witticism, 

Dunning, 

Coming, 

Pipkin, 

Tattle, 

Swinging, 

Acting, 

Kick, 

Scribbler, 

Tinkling, 

Doing, 

Kickshaw, 

Robin, 

Tapping, 

Loving, 

Stringing, 

Dodder, 

Raking, 

Striving, 

Hoping, 

Goggle, 

Tattling, 

Willing, 

Rising, 

Magog, 

Million, 

Stealing, 

Wrangling, 

Totter, 

Globule, 

Caning, 

Thinking, 

Poplin, 

Popping, 

Fallen, 

Humming, 

Stolen, 

Frightful, 

Famine, 

Sickle, 

Sprinkle, 

Puppy, 

Tipple, 

Grammar, 

Widen, 

Scupper, 

Spoken. 

Chicken, 

Wringing, 

Twinkling, 

IL — Polysyllabic  Words. 


Abs  )lutely, 
Abs  inently, 
Ace  :ssory, 
Ace  irately, 
Agitated, 
Ade  juately, 
Ang  ularly. 
Ant  ipenult, 
Are  litecture, 
Agr  culture. 
Am  ihilate, 
Ant  pathy. 
Ape  crypha, 
Apr  statize, 
Ap]  ropriate, 
Assiduous, 
Ass  milate, 
Ass  iciate. 
Acq  uiescence, 
Acq  aisition, 
Alii  nation. 
Nee  essarily, 
Ord  narily. 
Mo  lentarily, 
Teri  porarily, 
Rec  Dgnition, 
Par  icularly, 
Rec  agnize. 


Voluntarily, 

Obediently, 

Immediately, 

Innumerable, 

Intolerable, 

Dishonorable, 

Ambiguously, 

Articulately, 

Collaterally, 

Colloquially, 

Affability, 

Agricultural, 

Allegorical, 

Alimentary, 

Astrological, 

Atmospherical, 

Christianity, 

Chronological, 

Annihilation, 

Annunciation, 

Appreciation, 

Apologetic, 

Association, 

Circumlocuticai, 

Apocalyptic, 

Acknowledgment, 

Regularly, 

Cemetery, 


Circumvolution, 

Coagulation, 

Colonization, 

Commemoration, 

Congratulatory, 

Authoritatively, 

Disinterestedly, 

Expostulatory, 

Dietetically, 

Disingenuousness, 

Immutability, 

Compatibility, 

Ecclesiastical, 

Spirituality, 

Congratulations, 

Seminary, 

Dictionary, 

Preantepenult, 

Reconsideration, 

Religiously, 

Idiosyncrasy, 

Homogeneous 

Dictionary, 

Peculiarly, 

Righteous, 

Ignominiously, 

Syllabication, 

Syllabification. 


92  Murdocli  s  Elocution. 


Articulative  Exercises  on  the  various  wSubtonic  and 
Atonic  Elements,  in  Combination  of  Consecutive 
Language. 

"There,  on  <Jeds  of  violets  /^lue, 
And  fresh-<^lown  roses  washed  in  dew." 

"The  <Jar(^arous  Hu/5ert  took  a  bxxb^ 
To  kill  the  royal  bsJ^Q." 

"And  now  a  bwbdle  b\xv?,X,   and  now  a  world." 

"  Earth  smiles  around  with  <^oundless  /beauty  <^lest, 
And  heaven  <^eholds  its  image  in  her  <5reast." 

"The  South  Sea  b\xbb\Q,  put  the  pu(51ic  in  a  \i\xbb\ib." 

"Strikes  through  their  woun^e^  hearts  the  sviddery  dre^d.''^ 

"  He  licks  the  hana^  just  raised  to  shea'  his  bloo^." 

"  Meai/ows  trim  and  a'aises  pie</, 
Shallow  brooks  and  rivers  wide." 

"  And  of  those  afemons  that  are  foun^, 
In  fire,  air,   floort',   or  un^er-groun^." 

"He  ^ave  a  guinea,  and  he  ^ot  a  ^roa/." 
"I  can  not  di^,  and  am  ashamed  to  be^." 

"A  ^ddy,  ^^^ling  ^irl,  her  kinsfolks'  plague, 
Her  manners  vulvar  and  her  converse  va^ue." 

"  Nof  cast  one  /onging,  /ingering  /ook  behind." 


Zet  Caro^ne  smooth  the  /iquid  /ay, 
Lwll  with  Ame^a's  ^quid  name  the  nine. 
And  sweet/y  f/ow  through  a//  the  roya/  /ine. 

"  Zie  /ight/y  on  her  earth, 
Her  step  was  /ight  on  thee." 


Exercises  in  Syllabic   Combinations.        93 

"Pale  welancholy  sat  retired." 

"In  notes  by  distance  wade  wore  sweet, 
Poured  through  tlie  wellow  horn  her  pensive  soul." 

"Through  glades  and  gloows  the  wingled  weasure  stole." 

"  Round  a  holy  calw  diffusing, 
Love  of  peace  and  lonely  wusing, 
In  hollow  wur/wurs  died  away." 

"  To    talk   of    non^nXSxy    annihilated    was    certainly    nonsensical 
e«ou3[h." 

"Whew  lightning  and  dread  thunder. 
Rend  stubborn  rocks  asunder, 
And  fill  the  world  with  wonder, 
What  shall  we  do?" 

"  Rin^  out,  wild  bells!"  » 

"And  answer,   echoes,  answer,  dyin^,  dyin^,  dyin^." 

"  An^er,   and  pain,   and  yelling  rage." 

"  Ai  d  z/ainly  z/enturous,   soars  on  waxen  wing, 
D(  wn  in  the  z/ale,  where  the  leaz/es  of  the  groz/e  waz/e  oz/er  the 
head." 

"As  I  wake  sweet  music  brea//^e, 
Above,  about,  or  undernea//^." 

"  And  the  milkmaid  singeth  bli^/^e. 
And  the  mower  whets  his  scy///e." 

"And  the  smoo//^  stream  in  smoo///er  numbers  flows." 

"Approach  thou  like  the  rugged  i^ussian  bear, 
The  arm'd  rhinoceros,   or  the  Hyrcan  tiger." 

"  ^end  with  tremendous  sound  your  ears  asunder 
With  gun,  drum,   trumpet,  blunderbuss,   and  thunder." 

"Thine  this  universal  frame  thus  wondrous  fair." 
"Virtue's  fair  fo;'m." 
"What  man  dare,   I  dare." 
"Ah  fear,  ah  frantic  fear.^ 
I  see,  I  see  thee  near — 
Like  thee  I  start,  like  thee  disordered  fly." 


94  Miir dock's  Elocution. 

"A  wight  well  versed  in  7i^aggery." 

"The  sweet  maid  swooned  away." 

"He  wooed  a  woman  who  would  never  7f/ed." 

*'  He  givej,   aj  \s  Vxs  u^age  at  this  seajon, 
A  series  of  sermonj  on  moral  duties." 

♦*A  roseate  blush,  with  soft  suffusion, 
Divulged  her  gentle  mind's  confusion." 

*'77/e  frolic  wind  //^at  breathes  tho.  spring." 
"In  China's  gro^-es  of  z'egetable  gold.*' 

"  Progressiz/e  z^irtue  and  approz/ing  heaz'en." 

**Ten//^  or  ten  thousand//^  breaks  the  chain  alike." 

"The  j^ade  he  sought  and  j,4unned  the  sunj^ine." 

''The  weak-eyed  bat, 
With  j/zort,  shxSW.  j>^riek,  flits  by  on  leathern  wing." 

"The  rushi«^,  crackliw^,   crashi«^  thunder  down." 

"The  string  let  fly, 
Twanged  j^ort  and  j-^arp,  like  the  shxSW.  swallow's  cry." 

"^/^ence  and  w//at  art  thou,   execrable  shape?" 

"  fVAence  do  we  come,  and  whither  go?" 

**The  whole  room  7t>/iirled  about  her. 
When  she  7£'/^ispered,  rvhy  ?  where  ?  " 

"But  with  the  whi^  and  wind  of   his  /ell  sword, 
The  unnerved /ather /alls." 

"  But  with  the  /roward  he  was  yierce  as  yire." 

"The  J-ophii-^'j  shrewd  juggejtion." 

"Guejjing  the  design  was  perceived,  he  dejij/ed." 


Exercises  in  Syllabic   Combinations.        95 

"  5ee  the  jnakej  that  they  rear — 
How  they  hm  in  their  hair." 

"A  thousand  with  red,   burning  jpitJ,   come  hij-5-ing." 

"  Happy  thou  art  not — 
For  what  thou  haj'/  not,  sfA\  thou  strive^/  to  get ; 
And  what  thou  haj/,  forget'^/." 

"  Thou  art  not  ^-ertain, 
For  thy  complexion  shiftJ  to  strange  effectJ." 

*'  H^  >^ad  learned  the  w//ole  art  of  angling  by  /zeart." 

"  Be  /zumble  and  humane,     ^ate  not  your  enemies." 

"Up  a  /^igh  hxW.  he  heaved  a  /mge  round  stone." 

"  ^igh  <^eaven  ^as  not  -^eard  his  vow." 

"  A /ert, /rim /rater  of  the  northern  race." 

"  Here  files  of  /ins  extend  their  shining  rows, 
/\iffs,  /owder,  /atches,  bibles,  billet-doux." 

"Do  you  think  I  am  easier  to  be /layed  upon  than  a /i/e  ?  " 

"/'eter  Pi/er  /icked  a  /eck  of  /ickled  /e//ers." 

"  The  /emp/er  saw  his  /ime." 

'A  /ell-^ale  /aMing  /ermagan^  thai?  troubled  all  the  /own." 

"  He  talked,  and  s/amped,  and  chafed,  t\\\  all  were  shockea^." 

"To  inhabit  a  mansion  remo/e 
From  the  cla/^er  of  s/ree/-pacing  s/eeds." 

"A  \Ad,ck  cakz  of  «/rious  quality." 

"  Blow  wind,  come  wrac-^. 
At  least  we'll  die  with  harness  on  our  barA" 

"With  the  old  raution  of  a  coward's  spleen." 

"The  f/umsy  kitchen  f/ock  cl\z\  <r/icked." 

*' Thrust  Mrough  the  side,  he  sat  on  the  six^/i    seat." 

'*H  :  thx^x%\.   a   /"Aousand    //^istles   /trough    the    //^ick  of   his    //^umb." 


Chapter  XI. 
Articulation  and  Vocal  Culture. 

loi.  Articulation  is  vocality,  or  whispering  voice, 
modified  by  the  organs  of  enunciation.  A  good  articula- 
tion may  be  defined  to  be  the  precise,  forcible,  and  suffi- 
ciently prolonged  utterance  of  the  syllables  of  language, 
according  to  an  approved  standard  of  pronunciation.  It 
involves  not  only  the  perfect  formation  of  the  component 
elements  of  the  syllable,  but  the  perfect  coalescence  of 
these  elements  in  the  concrete  impulse. 

For  the  purposes  of  artistic  speech,  the  study  of  articu- 
lation and  vocal  culture,  or  the  development  of  the  voice 
for .  the  highest  expressive  effects  in  speech,  may  be  re- 
garded as  inseparable,  since  the  process  of  elementary 
training  necessary  to  discipline  the  organs  for  the  perfect 
mechanical  formation  of  elements,  either  singly  or  in  their 
union  in  the  syllabic  impulse,  will  develop  force  or  energy 
of  utterance,  together  with  a  clear,  brilliant  vocality. 
While,  on  the  other  hand,  all  exercise  of  the  organs  on 
the  constituent  elements  of  the  voice  comprehended  under 
the  various  vocal  properties  of  Pitch,  Force,  Time,  Quality, 
etc.,  as  they  variously  affect  the  syllabic  impulse  or  con- 
crete of  speech,  will  not  only  develop  a  command  over  the 
elementary  constituents  of  thought  and  expression,  but 
confer  a  skillful  mechanism  of  articulation  which  is,  in  a 
sense,  subordinate,  though  indispensable  to  these  higher 
vocal  effects. 
(96) 


Articulation  and   Vocal  Culture.  97 


102.  The  symbolical  form  of  the  alphabet  is  not  less  the 
fourdation  of  written  speech,  than  the  sounds  which  these 
symbols  typify  are  the  basis  of  all  the  expressive  utterances 
of  spoken  language. 

103.  We  have  spoken  thus  far  of  the  single  syllabic 
impilse  only.  Elements  make  syllables;  syllables,  words; 
and  words,   discourse. 

A  word  may  be  monosyllabic,  consisting  of  one  syllable 
onl}  ;  dissyllabic,  of  two;  and  polysyllabic,  of  more  than 
two  In  the  latter  case,  the  syllables  are  linked  together 
or  articulated  into  one  group;  /.  ^.,  uttered  in  immediate 
succession,  with  no  pause  or  hiatus  between.  Thus,  the 
syllibles  all  and  ways  become,  when  combined  into  one 
word,  always,  and  not  all  ways. 

ly  most  writers,  articulation  is  confounded  with,  or 
rati  er  confined  to,  distinctness;  but  it  means,  in  its  broad- 
est sense,  the  combining  or  linking  together  of  elements, 
wh  ch,  by  their  inherent  qualities,  are  susceptible  of  coal- 
escmce,  so  as  to  form  them  into  syllables,  as  well  as  the 
uni;ing  or  linking  together  of  the  latter  into  words,  and 
thcie  again  into  phrases.  In  the  same  way,  the  bones  of 
the  body,  and  the  joints  of  plants,  are  said  to  be  articu- 
lated, or  tied  together.  The  articulation  of  elements  into 
syllables  is  performed,  as  has  been  shown,  by  one  vocal 
im]  'ulse. 

'  If  the  term  articulation  were  synonymous  with  distinctness, 
the  e  could  have  been  no  occasion  to  borrow  such  terms  from  the 
Grt  ek  language  or  the  science  of  anatomy.  Two  terms  are  not 
nee  issary  or  admissible  in  science  for  one  idea.  Articulation  is 
the  smooth  and  intimate  combination  of  perfect  elements  into  a 
syll  ible." —  Thelwall. 

.  04.  In  words  of  more  than  one  syllable,  there  is  always 
on<  that  is  brought  more  forcibly  upon  the  ear,  and  is 
cal  ed  the  accented  syllable.     The  accentuation  of  our  lan- 

M.  E.-9. 


98  Murdoch' s  Elocution. 

guage  is  determined  by  established  usage,  and  the  ac- 
cented syllable  becomes  the  seat  of  life  in  the  word. 

On  the  unaccented  syllables,  the  voice  passes  through 
the  concrete  impulse  with  comparatively  faint  force  and 
rapid  flight;  it  is,  therefore,  much  less  perceptible  than  on 
those  under  the  accent,  and  is  called  the  rapid  concrete. 
This  term  is  also  applied  to-  immutable  syllables  in  contra- 
distinction to  the  term  slow  concrete,  applied  to  that  of 
accented  syllables  capable  of  extension. 

105.  In  our  classification  of  the  vowel  sounds  or  tonic 
elements,  they  are  considered  as  under  the  accent  only. 
The  following  will  show  the  occasional  modification  of 
these  sounds  in  the  light  or  rapid  utterance  of  unaccented 
syllables. 

"Nothing  more  distinguishes  a  person  of  a  good,  from  one  of 
a  mean,  education  than  the  pronunciation  of  the  unaccented  vowels. 

"Sometimes  the  vowel  so  circumstanced  is  indefinite  and  ob- 
scure, and  the  effort  to  make  it  distinct  would  be  vulgar  pedantry; 
in  other  cases,  the  vowel  so  circumstanced  is  pronounced  neatly 
and  distinctly  by  the  polite,  although,  in  some  instances,  with  de- 
cided irregularity  of  sound ;  as,  for  instance,  the  z",  in  docile,  which 
is  sounded  as  if  the  word  were  written  without    the  final  e  mute. 

"As  to  the  following  sounds,  the  pupil  will  observe  that  by  ah 
obscure  is  meant  the  natural  vowel ;  that  e,  i,  o,  u  distinct  are  in 
no  respect  different  from  the  corresponding  alphabetic  vowels  under 
the  accent,  but  in  having  less  force  and  prolongation;  gt.  It,  dis- 
tinct, are  precisely  the  same,  except  the  want  of  equal  force,  with 
the  correspondent  syllables  when  accenteH ;  but  that  Ht,  5t,  tit, 
obscure,  have  a  corruption  of  their  vowels,  which  makes  them  all 
three  to  sound  nearly  alike,  as  if,  in  each  instance,  it  was  the 
natural  vowel  essentially  short ;  and,  lastly,  that  «,  in  up,  is  the 
natural  vowel  without  force. 

"Ah^  obscure:  rt-base,  rt-bound,  com-m<7,   vil-la,*chi-na,  etc. 

"jS",  distinct:  d^-vout,  ^-ject,  b^-come,  app(?-tite,  ben^-fice,  catastro- 
phe, proph<?-cy,  epito-m<?,  etc. 

" /j  distinct:  z'-dea,  pr/-meval,  ?-rascible,  z'-tinerant,  d?-ameter,  etc. 

"6),  distinct:  mot-ti*,  he-ro,  ao-lo,  win-(l<3w,  fel-l^w,  pr^-fane, 
abs<?-lute,  opp^-site,  <j-pinion,  <7-riginal,  etc. 


Articulatio7i  and   Vocal  Culture.  99 


"  ^,  distinct:  h«-mane,  «-surp,  a-g«e,  stat-we,  emw-late,  mon«- 
meiit,  aven-z/e,   etc. 

^  A-t,  obscure  :  husb-cnd,  verb-al,  ab-jure,  bfl'p-tize,  ad-mit,  tem- 
per flince,  noble-man,  etc. 

'■'■  E-t,  distinct:  good-n^ss,  an-th^m,  si-Wt,  mod-^1,  provi-d^nce, 
^n-1  ghten,  etc. 

" /-/,  distinct:  pen-czl,  coun-c?l,  Lat-m,  w^-men,  bod-zce,  box-^s, 
mu  ;-<?s,  bene-fzce,  novel-t?es,  ser-vzle,  etc. 

*' C?-/,  obscure:    c^m-mand,    c^n-duce,    c^m-plete,    p^s-tillion,  etc. 

"6^-/,  distinct:  cher-«b,  sur-pl«s,  ser-m^n,  deco-r?/m,  skele-t^n, 
dec.s-it'n,  ambi-tio«s,   uni-S(?n,   pi-o«s,  etc. 

'^  U-r,  obscure:  gram-mar,  rob-b^r,  mar-t^r,  au-thar,  etc." 

— Smart. 

Words. 

:o6.  Having  made  a  study  of  the  elemental  material  of 
syl  ables,  the  ne^t  step  is  to  trace  their  vocalizing  power  in 
certain  words,  and  show  their  agency  in  giving  expression 
to  ;he  thoughts  of  the  mind  and  the  feelings  of  the  heart. 

vluch  depends  upon  the  treatment  of  words.  Our  ideas 
concerning  different  subjects  become  familiar  to  us,  while 
words  enable  us  to  explain  these  ideas.  Therefore,  we  are 
compelled  to  choose  the  proper  kind  of  words,  and  to  give 
thtm  the  vocality  best  suited  to  their  capacity  for  ex- 
pressive purposes.  While  some  words  are  more  fitted  than 
otl  ers  for  vocal  effects,  nearly  all  possess  available  qualities 
in  that  direction. 

The  degrees  of  vocality  applied  to  words  must  depend 
alt  )gether  upon  the  position  they  assume  in  the  formation 
of  sentences,  the  same  word  being  at  different  times  of 
dil  ering  degrees  of  importance,  sometimes  powerful,  some- 
tin  les  subordinate,  etc.  Therefore,  the  kind  of  vocal  treat- 
m(  nt  a  word  receives  must  depend  on  its  relative  position 
as  an  expressive  adjunct,  and  not  upon  its  vocal  capacity 
an  i  attributes  alone.  We  know  that  ''the  various  sounds 
wl  ich,  united,  form  a  word,  have  difference  of  force  within 


lOO  M2i7^docli  s  Elocution. 

them;  some  will  travel,  others  drop,  while  others  again 
will  melt  into  their  neighbors.  Intrinsic  force  and  relative 
force  have  to  be  considered  in  teaching  public  speakers 
and  singers."* 

Nor  must  we  here  undervalue  the  fact  that  this  individual 
character  of  each  element  employed  in  the  construction  of 
the  syllables,  not  less  than  its  connection  with  other  ele- 
ments, goes  to  make  the  action  either  abrupt  or  level, 
harsh  or  smooth.  (See  ^^ A  Plea  for  Spoken  Language,^' 
page  154.)  Thus,  crackling,  crashing,  and  h-eaking  owe 
their  harshness  and  abruptness  to  the  sharp  and  quick  ictus 
of  the  organic  formation  of  the  aspirate  hard  c,  and  the 
combinations  of  br,  sh,  cr.  These  clattering,  banging,  and 
clashing  sounds  are  the  materials  which  produce  short 
syllabic  time  and  abruptness.  In  such  words  as  flowing, 
blowing,  streaming,  moinng,  musing,  sailing^  flying,  pruning, 
and  this  class  of  words,  we  find  the  coalescing  of  the 
liquids  with  vowels,  and  the  implication  of  other  elements 
in  the  unobstructed  flow  of  sounds,  which  produce  the 
pleasing  vocal  continuity  which  gives  grace  and  beauty  to 
tone.  Hence,  the  power  to  be  gained  over  words  by  ele- 
mentary practices. 

The  indefinite  syllables  give  slow  and  solemn  effect  to 
awe,  sublimity,  and  grandeur,  by  a  full  and  forcible  vo- 
cality  commensurate  with  the  emotion  and  sentiment  which 
naturally  belongs  to  such  literal  signs ;  as,  awful,  grandeur, 
wondrous,  splendor,  rolling,  inountainous,  bold,  broad,  billowy, 
stars,  oceanic,  multitude,  million,  t?'emendous,  thundering, 
toivering,  eternity,  glorious,  stupendous,  immortal,  and  for- 
ever. 

In  expressive  utterance,  the  indefinite  syllables  receive 
their  time  from  median  stress  and  the  waves  of  the  voice, 
with  the  addition  of  the  tremulous  movement.     The  muta- 

*  Lunn. 


Articulation  and  Vocal.  Cklt'^dr^e,     .'  .lOi 

ble  syllables  are  brought  into  prominence  by  force  and 
tho'ough  stress,  while  immutable  syllables  owe  their  ex- 
pressive character  to  radical  stress  and  high  pitch. 

Swedenborg  has  told  us  that  the  vowel  sounds  of  lan- 
guage are  akin  to  the  spirit  of  goodness,  and  express  the 
the  qualities  of  the  Creator;  as,  Glory,  Power,  and  Holi- 
ness; while  the  consonants  express  the  spirit  of  evil;  as, 
Hatred,   Spite,  and  Malice. 

The  resonance  of  the  vowel  sounds  gives  a  peculiar 
vocal  significance,  independent  of  their  other  qualities,  to 
such  words  as  almighty,  adoration,  wonder,  eternal,  sublime, 
benmolence,  magnificence,  love,  charity,  goodness  and  mercy. 
Wl  ile  the  harsh,  grating  sounds  of  many  consonants  give 
fitt  ng  expression  to  the  words  Satan,  wickedness,  scoff, 
fieue,  sin,  blasphemy,  detestable,  strife,  kick,  bitter,  hissing, 
anci  scorn. 

]  brilliancy  is  the  characteristic  of  such  words  as  glittering, 
scirtillate,  sparkle,  blithe,  glare,  bright,  gaiety,  flash,  burst, 
ligi  tning,  blaze,  and  charming. 

Strength  is  realized  in  power,  thunder,  roar,  bellow,  fury, 
shook,  and  blare. 

07.  A  useful  discipline  for  voice  and  ear.  may  be  found 
in  attempting  to  give  the  quality  of  voice  which  will  best 
ex]  )ress  the  emotions  suggested  in  the  following  words : 
gkdly,  sadly,  inadly,  boldly,  bravely,  murderous,  ti?norous, 
gli  '-some,  moroseness,  ferocity,  and  tranquillity. 

The  faithful  endeavor  to  realize  and  satisfactorily  define 
th(  analogy  between  sound  and  sense,  in  such  words,  will 
fin  i  its  full  reward  when  carried  into  the  practice  of  analyz- 
ing; passages  from  dramatic  authors,  and  afterwards  deter- 
mining the  nature  of  the  thought  or  passion  expressed  by 
th.;  language,  to  trace  that  thought  or  passion  to  the  repre- 
se  itative  words,  then  to  clothe  each  with  its  appropriate 
vc:ality  as  an  expressive  agent, — at  the  same  time  not 
at  empting  to  execute  an  expressive  style  of   recitation  or 


ta2  :  ■  '    :  i ..  'r  Murdoch's  Elocution. 

reading  of  the  ^  whole  passage.  By  such  means,  the  mind 
will  perceive  the  full  value  of  each  word  as  a  symbol  of 
passion  or  vocal  sign,  independent  of  its  significance  as  a 
literal  sign. 

In  asserting  the  claim  that  each  word  expressive  of 
action  or  passion,  undoubtedly,  has  an  imitation  of  its  sense 
in  vocal  expression,  I  desire  only  to  speak  of  that  imita- 
tion with  regard  to  its  kind,  and  leave  its  degree  to  the 
taste  and  judgment  of  the  reader.  Exaggerated  imitations 
of  sound  to  illustrate  sense  would  be  like  all  overstrained 
efforts  of  speech,  liable  to  produce  burlesque  effects,  and 
thus  ^defeat  its  own  purpose.  The  happy  medium  is  the 
point  aimed  at  in  all  cases  by  a  discriminating  intelligence, 
and  nowhere  more  imperatively  than  in  expressive  or  emo- 
tional reading. 

The  following  words  are  expressive  of  the  emotion  of 
anger:  begone!  away!  down!  go!  do!  hence!  die!  brute! 

Grief:  alas!  oh!  ah!  no!  weep!  wail!  waning! 

Joy  :  hurrah  !  glorious  !  gladly  !  glowing !  gaily !  glee- 
ful! 

Words  analagous  to  calm,  quiet  thought :  calm,  balm, 
palm,  age,  sage,  mead,  lone,  moon,  mood. 

Words  suggestive  of  the  character  of  action :  heaving, 
swaying,  prancing,  darting,  lagging,  glancing,  glowing,  glitter- 
ing, frittering,  quick,  cut,  crawl,  bawl,  dash,  plunging,  splash- 
ing, stuttering,  clatter,  tumble. 

Words  suggestive  of  the  character  of  passion  or  emotion. 
Forcible:  Defiance!  Avaunt!  Detested  kite!  Out,  dared 
dastard!     Dash  out! 

Gentle:  softly!  calmly!  slowly!  gently!  sweetly!  meekly! 
mildly  ! 

Invocation :    Hear,  oh  Heavens !  and  give  ear,  oh  earth ! 

Reverence  :    //  thunders  ! — sons  of  dust,  in  reverence  bow. 

Positive  command :  On  them,  hussars !  In  thunder  on 
them  wheel! 


Articulation  and  Vocal  Culture. 


03 


Studies  in  Enunciation.* 
Tonics. 

A,    IS   in  ale.    (See  ^45.) — a,    ai,   ei,   ey,   au,   ay,   ea,  ao, 
eigh,  aye. 


Pak,  frame,  whale,  cham- 
b'ir,  sage,  grate,  age. 

Staii,  aid,  aim,  refrain, 
straight,  daily,  frail,  pail, 
hiil,  main,  grain. 

Rei  1,  heinous,  feign. 

Grey^,  whey,  convey,  prey. 


Gauge. 

Pay,  flay,  pray,  hay,  play- 
er, gray. 
Yea,  great,  steak. 
Gaol. 

weigh,  eight,  freight,  neigh. 
Aye. 


A,  as  in  cat. — a,  ^i,  u^,  ai. 


Cat    bat,  hat,  s^t,  fat,  acci- 
d  ^nt,  national,  skald,  chap. 
Plaid. 


Guarantee. 

Maltreat,   algebra,  salmon, 
alternate. 


A,  as  in  arm.     (See  ^41,  43.) — ah,  ea,  au,  a,  ua,  e 


Hu  rah,  ah. 
Heart,  hearth. 

Gaunt,    aunt,    launch,   laun- 
dry, haunt. 


Balm,     arm,    calm,     farm, 

father. 
Guard. 
Serjeant. 


A,  as  in  what. — a. 

^/hat,    was,   wash,    quality,    wand,   squadron,   wan,   wan- 
ton   chaps. 


■  The  following  tables  of  words  contain  the  occasional  sounds,  so 
call  id    by  Webster,   that   Rush  did  not  introduce  into  his  analysis. 


I04 


Murdoch! s  Elocution. 


A,  as  in  a//.*     (See  ^38,  40.) — a,  au,  aw,  6u,  awe,  oa. 


Ball,  all,  water,  talk. 

Haul,  autumn,  pause,  taught, 

caught. 
Raw,  awful,  paw. 


Fought,     sought,     bought, 

ought. 
Awe. 
Board. 


A,  as  in  ask. — a,  au,  ua. 


Slant,  dance,  surpass,  pass, 
grasp,  past,  grass,  chant, 
after,  master. 


Laugh. 
Quaff. 


A,  as  in  air. — a,  e,  ai,  ea,  hei,  e'er,  ay. 


Various,    parent,    bare,   star- 
ing, glare. 
Whdre,  th§re,  ere. 
Chair,  stair,  fairy,  laird. 


Bear,  swear. 
Heir,  heiress,  their. 
Ne'er,  e'er. 
Mayor,  prayer. 


E,  as  in  err.     (See  ^39.) — e,  ea,  1,  ue,  y. 


Her,  err,  mercy,  verse,  herb, 
member,  were,  afternoon, 
alternate. 

Pearl,  earn,  earnest,  earth. 


Sir,  virgin,  mirth,  bird,  girl, 
twirl,  thirsty,  irksome, 
third,  squirm,  whirl. 

Guerdon. 

Myrrh,  myrtle,  martyr. 


*The   indefinite    article  a,  which    becomes    obscure  when  unem- 
phatic,  is  pronounced  like  u  in  «/,  a  man,  a  boy. 


Articulation  and  Vocal  Culture.         105 


E,  as  in  eve.     (See  ^[42.) — ee,  "i,  ea,  ey,  e'e,  eo,    se,    uay, 
ie,  ei,  e. 


Ped,  eel,  trees,   seer,,  teeth, 

cheese,  queen. 
Marine,  machine,  pique,  po- 

l.ce,  suite. 
Bei.n,    beat,    sheaf,    beaver, 

]>lead,   fear,  sea. 
Key. 
E'(n. 
People. 


Ciesar, 
Quay. 
Grieve,  thieves,  brief,  piece, 

field.    . 
Ceiling,     perceive,     seine, 

receive,    either,    neither. 
Series,  equable,  edict,  me, 

the. 


E,  as  in  end.     (See  ^[39.) — 6,   a,   ai,   ay,  60,   ei,   u,    ue, 
ig,  6i. 


M(it,  let,  fetter,  object,  chil- 
irSn,  Igver,  goodness,  rgnd. 
Ai.y,  many. 
Sa  d,  again,  against. 
Sar^s. 
Jeopard,  leopard. 


Leather,    wSather,    wSalth, 

head,  sweat,  heaven. 
Bury,  burial. 
Guess. 
Friend. 
Heifer. 


I,  as  misle.     (See  ^39.) — i,  ie,  y,  aye,  igh,  ai,  ei,  uy,  oi. 


Pi  ice,  idle,  biography,  mind, 
thigh,  oblige,  minute,  idea, 
aspirant. 

D  e,  died,  vie. 

E '^e,  my,  sky,  dye,  rye, 
papyrus,  scythe,  by. 


Aye. 

Sigh,  high. 

Aisle. 

Height,   sleight,    heigh-ho. 

Buy,  Guy. 

Choir. 


io6 


Murdoch! s  Elocution. 


I,  as  in  in.     (See  ^[39.) — 1,  la,  ie,  y,  al,  a,  ay,  el,  o,  u,  ui. 


Sin,  bill,  ill,  civilization, 
chicken,  critic,  vineyard. 

Marriage,  carriage. 

Sieve. 

My  (unemphatic),  psalmody, 
symbol,  ycleped. 

Mountain,   certain,   captain. 


Cabbage,   postage,  village 
Sunday,  Monday. 
Forfeit,  foreign. 
Women.  '^ 

Minute,  letttice,  btisy. 
Guilt,  quilt. 


O,  as  in  old.     (See  1145.) — o,  6e,  au,   eo,   oa,  60,  ow,  6u, 
owe,  ough. 


Bold,  cold,  go,  mold,  bolt, 
obey,  oval,  procure,  piano, 
yolk,  roll,  motto,  depo.t. 

Doe,  toe,  foe,  hoe. 

Hautboy. 

Yeoman. 

Roam,  loam,  foam,  boat, 
oak,  oats,  loaf,  oath. 


Door. 

Flow,     blow,     crow,     low, 

shadow,  tow. 
Soul,  shoulder,  pour,  four, 

court. 
Owe. 
Though,    dough,    borough. 


O,  as  in  our.     (See  ^38.)— ow,  ou,  ough. 


Cow,  bow,  how,  brow,  frown, 
growl,  owl,  brown,  crown, 
gown. 


Ounce,  cloud,  out,  count, 
proud,  couch,  sound, 
found. 

Plough,  drought. 


Oo,  as  in  look.- 

Wolf,  woman,  bosom. 
Bull,    butcher,    pull,     puss, 
put,  push. 


),  u,  00,  ou. 

Foot,  good,  wood,  book. 
Should,  would. 


I 


Articulation  and  Vocal  Culture. 


07 


Oo,  as  in  ooze.     (See  ^38.) — q,  qe,  qeu,  00,   ooe,  qu,  ew, 
wo,   u,   ue,   ui. 


Do,  to,  tomb,  lose,  prove. 

Shqt,  canoe. 

Marqeuver. 

Cool,  boom,  boot,  stoop,  coop, 

cccoon,  too,  soothe,  troop. 
Wooed.  j 

Group,     tqur,     youth,      you,    j 

through,  rqute.  ' 


Chew,  brew,   threw,  grew. 

Two. 

Cruel,    rumor,   rude,    yule, 

rural,  spruce,  sure,  rule. 
Flue,  rue,  true. 
Recruit,  fruit,  bruise,  juice, 

sluice. 


U,  ;is  in  use. — u,  ew,  hii,  eau,  ieu,  iew,  ue,  eu,  ui,  uh,  you. 


Stuf  id,  usual,  use,  tune,  mas- 
ci.line,  impugn,  virtuous, 
liierature,  nature. 

Dev,  few,  new,  blew,  flew, 
stwer,  anew. 

Euf  huism. 

Beaity,  beauteous. 

Adi  iu,  lieu. 


View. 

Ensue,      pursue,     avenue, 

Tuesday. 
Feud,  pseudo. 
Puisne. 
Buhl. 
You. 


O,  as  in  <?«.*     (See  ^38.) — 6,  a,  6w,  au. 


Chcp,  c6g,  b5g,  r6d,  fSx, 
d5g,  G6d,  beySnd,  fSster, 
c  ipse,  6n,  n6t,  6racle,  tdss, 
6  f,  c6st,  I5st. 


Wash,   wad,    watch,   swan. 

KnSwledge. 

Laurel,  cauliflower. 


*  "Between  a  as  in  fall  and  the  a  of  what,  there  is  a  medium 
soui  d,  which  is  neither  so  short  as  0  in  not,  nor  so  long  as  a  in 
nau.  -ht.  Smart  says  that  this  medium  sound  is  usually  given  to 
sho)  t  b  when  directly  followed  by  jj,  j/,  etc.,  as  in  Us&,  cost,  brdth, 
gdrn  trdugh,  6j^,  and  some  other  words.  To  give  the  extreme 
shoi  t  sound  to  such  words  is  affectation ;  to  give  them  the  full 
soui  d  of   broad  a  is  vulgar." — Webster. 


io8 


Murdoch!  s  Elocution. 


O,  as  in  or.^ — o. 

Born,   orb,    cork,    nor,  sort,    j      Effort,   order,    stork,    lord, 
f6rm,  before,  forth,  north,  abhorred,  fdrmer. 

swdrd,  fort,  more.  | 


Oi,  as  in  oil.     (See  ^45.) — oi,  oy. 


Coil,  boil,  foil,  toil,  point, 
choice,  voice,  poignant, 
spoil,  avoid,  groin. 


Boy,  toy,  coy,  oyster,  joy, 
employ. 


U,  as  in  up.\ — u,  6e,  oii,  6. 


Cup,  tip,  siin,  diist,  but. 

Does. 

Toiigh,  rough,  enoiigh. 


Doth,  done,  won,  son,  gov- 
ern, tonnage,  pomegran- 
ate, dove,  love. 


U,  as  in  urge.X — o,  u,  ou. 


Work,  worth,    wort,    worse, 
worm,  worship. 


Btirn,  fiirl,  tirge,  htirt,  slur, 

burr,  ptirse. 
Cotirtesy. 


*The  element  has  been  said  to  be  a  modification  of  all.  Un- 
questionably the  difference  in  pitch,  which  causes  greater  pressure 
of  the  muscles,  gives  it  a  distinct  place  among  the  elements.  It  is 
also  affected  by  the  r  which  follows  it. 

fThis  is  sometimes  called  the  neutral  vowel. 

X  The  u  of  urge  is  lower  in  pitch  than  u  in  «/,  and  when  fol- 
lowed by  r  becomes  another  distinct  element. 


Articulation  and  Vocal  Culture. 


109 


SUBTONICS. 

B,  as  in  babe..    Labial. — b,  be,  pb,  bb. 


Bat,  beat,  cub,  mob,  curb. 
Babe,     tube,    cube,    globe, 
bribe. 


Cupboard. 

Bubble,  ebb,  babble. 


M,  as  in  maim.     Labial. — m,  gm,  mn,  hm,  mb,  mm. 


Main,    men,    mad,    mound, 

mcrk,  mow. 
Phleijm,  apothegm. 
Hymn,  autumn,  solemn,  limn. 


Drachm 

Lamb,   limb,  tomb,  comb. 

Mammon. 


N,   cS  in  nun.     Nasal. — n,   mp,    kn,   gn,    en,   in,  ign,  nn, 
hn,  dn,  mn,  nd. 


,     Nun   nay,  near,  moon,  coin. 
Com  ptroller. 
Kna^e,  knack,  knee,  knap, 

krock,  knight. 
Gnah. 

Ofte  1,  hasten,  heaven. 
Couj  in. 


Reign,  campaign. 

Inn,  dinner. 

John. 

Wednesday. 

Mnemonic. 

Handsome. 


L,  as  in  lull.     Lingual. — 1,  gl,  le.  In,  11,  tie,  sle,  ual. 


Lull     lie,  lad,    weal,    laugh, 

la  nb,  limp,  loyal. 
Intaglio,  seraglio. 
Pale,  tale,  while,  smile. 
I     Kill . 


All,  ball,  hull,  poll,  hall. 
Little,   kettle,   mettle,  cas- 
tle, subtle. 
Aisle,  isle. 
Victuals. 


Murdoch's  Elocution. 


D,  as  in  did.     Dental. — d,  g,  Id,  de,  dd. 


Did,  dread,  die,  dare,  down, 

mind,  flood. 
Suggest. 


Would,  could. 

Made,  fade,  side,  shade. 

Odd,  add,  riddle. 


R,  as  in  rap.     Lingual. — r,  rh,  wr,  br,  gr,  dr,   fr,  pr. 


Ring,   ram,    rub,    rust,    rap, 

robe,  ream,  ride. 
Rhetoric,     rheum,     rhythm, 

rhime. 
Wrap,  wrangle,  wrist,  wrath. 


Brave. 

Grave. 

Drain. 

Frill. 

Pray. 


R,  as  \xifar.     Lingual. — r,  re,  rr,  rrh. 

Err. 
Myrrh. 


Fear,    far,    war,    hair,    pear, 

floor. 
Tare,  fare,  hare. 


Both  sounds  of  R  (final  and  initial.) 

Rare,    rear,    roar,    reared,    roared,    rarely,   error,  horror, 
barrier,  merrier,  terrier,  courier. 


N    before  g  or   k.     Ng*  as   in   sing.      Nasals. — ng,    nk, 
ngue,   nd. 


Sing,  ring,  wringing,  sing- 
ing, banging,  extinguish, 
weaning,  angry. 


Ink,    bank,    rank,    drink, 

wink. 
Tongue. 
Handkerchief. 


*  A  most  important  element  in  America, — singing^  not  singin. 


Articulation  a?id   Vocal  Culture. 


1 1 1 


V,  as  in  valve.     Labio-dental. — v,  ph,  f,  ve. 


Vabe,  vex,  vile. 

Nephew. 

Of. 


Live,    hive,    wave,    nerve, 
love. 


G  hard,  as  in  gag.     Palatic. — g,  gue,  gh,  gu,  gg. 


Gab,    go,    gone,    got,    hag, 

kg,  grant. 
Vogue,       rogue,        brogue, 

fc  gue. 


Ghost,  gherkin,  aghast. 
Guess,   guile,   guard,   guy. 
Egg,  rigging,  digging. 


G  (soft,  d-zh)  as  in  George. — g,  ge. 
Engine,  gem,  pedagogic.         I      Rage,    pledge,    fledge,    ar- 


Giait,  grade. 


range,  syringe. 


J,  as  in  joy.—]  (d-zh). 
J)y,  justice,  judge,  jump,  jingle,  jury,  juice,  John,  jail. 


Z,    IS  in  zone  (zh,  as  in  azure).     Dental. — z,  s,  sp,   cz,  x, 
ge,  zu,  zi,*  ti,  c,  si. 


Zea.,  zone,  frozen,  czar, 
z  my,  zebra,  zenith. 

Is,  was,  does,  has,  says, 
lusy,  wise,  amuse,  rise. 

Ra;  pberry. 

Czr  r. 

Xa  ithus,  Xerxes. 


Rouge. 

Azure,  seizure. 
Brazier,  glazier. 
Transition. 
Sacrifice. 

Symposium,    adhesion,    fu- 
sion. 


Z,  followed  by  u  and  ?',  becomes  zh. 


112 


Murdoch's  Elocution. 


W,  as  in  woe.     Labial. — w,  o,  ua,  ui. 


Woe,    wiles,    wild,   wart,   re- 
ward, water. 
One,  once. 


Suavity,  zouave. 
Suite. 


Y,  as  in  ye.     Palatic. — Y,  i,  j,  li. 


You,  yell,  youth,  young,  ye. 
Genius,     intaglio,     seraglio, 

poniard,    minion,    bestial, 

Spaniard. 


Hallelujah. 

Brilliant. 

Million. 


Th,  as  in  thine.     Dental. — th,  the. 

With,   thine,  thou,   beneath,   I      Wreathe,  breathe,  soothe, 
thy,  these,  baths,  father.      I         clothe. 


Atonics. 
P,  as  in  pipe.     Labial. — p,  pe,  pp,  gh,  ph. 


Pip,  lip,  tip,  top,  hop,  pop. 
Pipe,     tripe,     dupe,     wipe, 
gripe. 


Applaud,  pippin,  approach. 

Hiccough. 

Diphthong,  naphtha. 


S,  as  in  sent.     Dental. — s,  sc,   sch,  ps,  ss,  sth,  sh,  sw,  st. 


Sent,  sin. 
Science,  scion. 
Schism,  schismatic. 
Psalm,  pseudo,  psychic. 
Stress. 


Isthmus. 

Cuish. 

Sword. 

Castle,  apostle,  epistle. 


Articulatio7i  and  Vocal  Culture. 


i3 


T,  ;ls  in  tent.     Dental. — t,  te,  cht,  ed,  tt,  ct,  ght,  pt,  th,  bt. 


Tame,  tar,  text,  tympanum. 
Mate,  fate,  hate,  flute,  brute, 

route,  gate. 
Yacht. 
Stri  )ped,    cracked,    stuffed, 

dressed,  rushed. 
Matter,  hatter,  batter,  fatter. 


Indict,  victuals. 

Bought,     sought,     caught, 

eight,  bright,  straight. 
Keceipt,  ptisan,  ptarmigan. 
Thomas,  asthma,  thyme. 
Subtle,  debt,  debtor. 


C   hard,   and   K,   as  in  kite.     Palatic. — c,   qu,  ch,  ck,  Ik, 
ke,   que,   cch,  cqu. 


Cale,  care,  careful,  cat,  lic- 

o  rice. 
Liqior,  quay,  coquette,   eti- 

q  Liette. 
Chj  OS,    character,   drachma, 

sohool,   architect,    chorus. 


Kick,  prick,  sick,  lick. 
Walk,  stalk,  talk,  folk. 
Make,  stroke,  stake,  duke. 
Casque,  critique. 
Bacchus. 
Lacquer. 


Q,  as  in  queen  (kw.)     Palatic. — qu,   cu. 

Qu  ;en,  queer,  quire,  quick,   I      Cuish,      cuirass,      cuisine, 
1  quid,  question,  quince.      I  cuerpo. 


]',  as  m  fife.     Labio-dental. — f,  fe,  ff,  pph.  If,  gh,  ph. 


Fane,  fair,  fury,  fan,  fate. 
Fif ;,  wife,  strife,  knife. 
Ofl    offer,  suffer. 
Sa]  phire. 
Caf,  half. 

M.  E.— 10. 


Cough,  enough,  laugh, 
rough. 

Sylph,  nymph,  seraph,  ci- 
pher, phalanx,  phantom. 


114 


Murdoch' s  Elocution. 


X  hard,  as  in  tax  (ks) ;  soft,  as  in  eggs  (gz).     Palatic. 


Box,  flax,  wax,  expect,  vex- 
ation, exit,  proximity,  ex- 
cellence. 


Exert,  exist,  exhort,  exhale, 
example,  examination. 


.  ii^ 


Sh,  as  in  shine.     Dental. — sh,   su,  ch,  sci,  ce,  ci,  c,  ti,  SI7 
se,  ch. 


Push,    shirt,    shave,    shout, 

shelf. 
Sumac,  sure,  assure,  insure, 

sugar,  issue. 
Fuchsia. 
Conscience. 
Ocean. 


Social,  vicious,  association, 
Oceanic. 

Ratio,     captious,     negotia- 
tion, jnention,  patient. 
Tension,  aversion,  mission. 
Nauseous,  nauseate. 
Chaise,   machine,   chagrin. 


C,  as  in  cent.     Dental. 
Cent,  piece,  cipher,  niece,  century,  center. 


Ch,  as  in  church  (tsh).      Dental. — tch,  ch. 


Match,  watch,  patch,  catch, 

etch. 
Arch,   church,   each,  beach. 


chowder,  speech,  rich, 
branch,  chance,  launch, 
staunch. 


Th,  as  in  think.      Dental. 
Thin,  think,  thigh,  pith,  depth,  thrice,  throw,  myth. 


Articulation  and   Vocal  Culture.  115 


Wh,  as  in  white.     Aspirate. 
W  hirl,  where,  why,  while,  when,   whale,   whoa,  what. 

H,  aspirate.* — ha,  he,  hi,  ho,  hu,  hai,  hau,  hea,  hee,  hoa. 


Harinonious,  had. 

Her  3,    heroine,    vehemence. 

Higi,  annihilate. 

Hoh,  exhort. 

Humble,  humor,  human. 


Hair. 

Exhaustive. 
Heave,  hear. 
Heed. 
Hoary. 


*  We  are  now  sounding  this  element  in  many  words  where  for- 
mer y  it  was  silent. 

Ii    all  cases,  the  vowel    following  the  h  gives  it  sound. 


Chapter  XII. 
Implication  y  with  Exercises  for  Practice. 

1 08.  The  preceding  exercises  having  given  the  perfec- 
tion of  habit  in  the  articulation  of  elements,  the  enuncia- 
tion of  syllables,  and  the  correct  pronunciation  of  words, 
the  implication,  or  linking  together,  of  words,  follows  in 
sequence.  This  may  be  defined  as  the  vocal  union  of 
words  graphically  separated,  and  by  which,  without  injury 
to  the  distinctness  of  the  words,  all  differences  of  auditory 
impressions  between  monosyllabic  and  polysyllabic  compo- 
sitions are  removed. 

Rule. — All  words,  though  graphically  separated,  are  to 
be  implicated  or  connected  as  they  succeed  each  other, 
except  the  sense  be  interrupted  by  caesura  or  other  pauses. 
The  exception  does  not  apply,  however,  to  pauses  which  merely 
suspend  the  sense. 

If  the  words  in  a  phrase  or  sentence  are  not  joined  or 
implicated,  the  utterance  will  be  constantly  deformed  by 
recurring  hiatus,  becoming  staccato  when  it  ought  to  be 
legato,  thus: 


A  man,  A  ship.  An  apple ;         Not 

A  man,  A  ship,  An  apple. 

"Oh,  could  I  flow  like  thee  and  make  thy  stream." 

In  this  line,  the   O,   in  the  word  oh,  (for  the  h  is  not 
sounded),  is  implicated  with  the  c,  of  the  word  could ;  the 
C116) 


Implication,  with  Practice  Exercises.     117 

d  of  this  latter  word  with  the  personal  pronoun  /;  the  / 
with  the  /,  of  the  word  flow;  the  ow,  of  the  word  flow, 
with  the  subtonic  /,  of  the  word  like,  the  thy  is  implicated 
with  the  s,  of  the  word  strea7n,  so  as  to  somewhat  resemble 
the  sound  of  thice  in  utterance.  There  are  also  other  im- 
plicrtions  in  the  line  just  quoted,  to  which  no  allusion  is 
mad  3  because  they  are  less  obvious.  Throughout  the 
who  e  line  there  is  a  continuous  coalescence  of  elements 
depending  upon  an  intimate  succession  of  changes  in  the 
organs  of  enunciation.  By  these  changes,  the  sound  is  not 
mer<-'ly  transferred  from  one  elementary  position  to  another, 
but  the  respective  elementary  sounds  are  joined  together 
by  ;,  continuity  of  progression. 

"  My  great  example,  as  it  is  my  theme." 

B  y^  a  delicate  precision  in  the  action  of  the  enunciative 
organs,  the  sound  of  the  /  murmurs  over  the  intervening 
pau^  e,  and  is  implicated  with  that  of  the  a,  in  the  word  as, 
thus  communicating  to  the  ear  that  agreeable  smoothness 
of  A/hich  this  part  of  the  line  is  capable.  The  full  effect 
of  ihe  impHcation  can  only  be  communicated  orally;  but 
when  it  is  accomplished  with  due  delicacy,  the  line  bor- 
row ;  from  it  a  flowing  beauty  of  vocal  effect  which  .  is 
peculiarly  soothing  and  agreeable  to  the  ear. 

109.  The  terminal  tonic  or  subtonic  sounds,  except 
whe^e  some  particular  expression  is  aimed  at,  should  be 
alio  ved  to  flow  out  freely  on  their  vanishing  movement. 
Thi ;  being  understood,  the  fault  of  making  a  sudden  stop 
or  cessation  of  voice  between  words  that  ought  not  to  be 
sep;  rated  (a  fault  which  may  have  been  somewhat  fostered 
by  ;he  practice  on  individual  words,  but  which  it  is  the 
nex:  step  forward  to  overcome),  will  be  corrected  by 
atte  tiding  to  what  follows : 

1 1  reading  or  speaking,  the  breath  is  never  to  be  taken 
but  at  a  proper  place  for  a  pause;   (this  very  often  occur- 


1 1 8  Murdoch's  Elocution. 

ring,  however,  where  no  punctuative  stop  is  marked),  and 
between  these  pauses  the  voice  must  be  in  continual  flow, 
the  vocality  interrupted  only  by  the  occasional  occurrence 
of  atonic  elements.  'The  organs,  having  assisted  in  the 
formation  of  one  sound,  are  to  take  their  position  easily 
and  readily  for  forming  the  next,  even  while  the  previous 
sound  is  still  going  on.  Thus,  while  uttering  the  sound 
a-w^  in  the  i)hrase,  he  saw  ftobody,  the  organs  are  to 
take  their  position  for  sounding  n,  which  begins  the 
following  word,  the  voice  passing  from  the  utterance 
of  the  former  sound  to  that  of  the  latter  without  a 
break. 

This  same  preparatory  position  of  the  organs  must  be 
also  attended  to  in  the  case  of  an  initial  tonic  on  the  suc- 
ceeding word,  as  the  occlusion  of  the  glottis  must  take 
place,  or  the  position  of  the  inner  mouth  be  taken  before 
the  radical  opening  can  be  produced;  thus,  a  braz;^  action. 
Also,  in  pronouncing  the  phrases,  a  low  part,  to  do  service, 
while  the  voice  is  still  uttering  the  sound  represented  by 
ow  and  o,  in  the  respective  phrases,  the  organs  are  to 
take  their  positions  for/  and  s,  and  there  is  to  be  no  other 
break  in  the  voice  than  that  caused  by  closing  the  lips  in 
/  and  hissing  in  s.  In  pronouncing  the  sentence,  he 
breathes  loudly,  the  tongue,  in  forming  the  sounds,  having 
assisted  in  producing  th,  passes  from  between  the  teeth 
to  the  gums,  where  a  buzz  is  made  ;  and  this  buzz,  with  a 
very  little  alteration  in  the  organs,  is  changed  for  the  more 
purely  vocal  sound  of  /,  all  of  which  is  to  be  accomplished 
without  any  cessation  of  voice. 

In  the  phrase  with  pride,  the  tongue  withdraws  itself 
from  between  the  teeth  in  finishing  th,  and  the  efflux  of 
voice  is  stopped  by  the  sound  /  till  it  again  becomes  man- 
ifest in  the  utterance  of  r. 

HO.  Many  persons,  in  reading,  have  a  habit  of  catch- 
ing the  breath,   or  snapping  short  a  sound  that  admits  of 


Implication,  with  Practice  Exercises,     T19 

pro  Taction,  where  no  pause,  either  of  sense  or  for  effect, 
is  required. 

The  cause  of  the  fault  above  alluded  to  is  either  a  want 
of  power  and  pliability  in  the  organs  of  the  reader  or 
speiker  to  continue  a  terminal  sound,  and,  in  addition, 
to  J  tart  with  ease  and  readiness  to  the  position  for  the  suc- 
ceeding initial  sound,  obliging  him  to  stop,  after  having 
uttered  one  word,  in  order  to  make  preparations  for*  sound- 
ing the  next;  or  it  proceeds  from  his  inability  to  distin- 
guish in  any  o^er  way  the  finishing  of  one  word  and  the 
beginning  of  another,  when  final  and  initial  sounds  are  in 
dai  ger  of  being  mistaken  by  a  hearer. 

What  is  the  difference  between  the  pronunciation  of  the 
following  phrases,  if  no  pause  is  made  between  the  words? 

Sad  angler,  Sad  dangler. 

'1  he  same  arrow,  The  same  marrow. 

To  obtain  either.  To  obtain  neither. 

(oodness  enters  in  the  heart,      Goodness  centers  in  the  heart. 

The  difference  is  made  as  follows:  in  the  former  sen- 
terces  the  consonant  sound  is  not  protracted,  and  the 
or[;ans  separate  without  effort  to  utter  the  vowel  which 
begins  the  next  word;  in  the  latter,  it  is  necessary  to 
d\Nell  upon  the  consonant,  and  to  make  its  effect  manifesto 
bebre  the  latter  word  by  a  renewed  exertion  of  the 
organs,  which,  however,  must  not  be  for  a  moment  de- 
ta(  hed  from  their  position. 

If,  instead  of  a  subtonic  or  a  simple  aspirate,  an  abrupt 
atonic  ends  and  begins  the  words,  there  must  be  a  cessa- 
ti(  n  of  voice,  as  in  the  phrases,  a  ripe  pear,  a  black  cow,  a 
fat  turtle.  This  cessation  must  be  equal  to  what  would 
hf  ve  been  the  length  of  a  vocal  or  aspirate  sound ;  and  the 
organs  are  to  keep  their  position  after  finishing  the  former 

)rd  until  they  separate,   with  renewed  exertion,  to  pro- 


w 


n»»unce  the  next. 


I20  MurdocJi  s  Elocution. 

The  habit  of  what  may  be  called  the  *  *  click "  of  the 
organs  on  the  "  vocule "  of  the  abrupt  elements  can  not, 
however,  be  watched  with  too  great  care,  as  it  is  apt  to 
become  over-precise  and  distinctive  in  effect.  The  true 
idea  of  the  energetic  practice  given  on  these  sounds  is  to 
secure  a  distinctive  or  emphatic  enunciation;  but  in  light 
or  familiar  speech,  or  in  emphatic  utterance  where  the 
language  requires  implication,  this  vocular  ''click"  will 
give  it  an  affected  and  pedantic  character.  Nothing  can 
be  more  out  of  place  or  offensive  to  an  ear  of  just  dis- 
crimination than  this  exaggeration  of  the  distinctness  of 
the  vocule  where  the  peculiar  emphasis  does  not  demand  it. 

On  the  other  hand,  if  the  former  word  ends  with  a 
subtonic  or  atonic,  and  the  next  begins  with  a  tonic,  the 
sound  of  the  former  is  simply  held  upon  the  organs  with- 
out renewed  exertion  of  the  latter,  until  they  pass  quickly 
to  the  clearly  defined  initial  of  the  succeeding  tonic,  as  in 
the  phrases :  a  tall  ozter,  to  inform  early ^  to  feign  innocence^ 
bare  elbow,  to  loathe  envy,  chief  object,  to  give  openly,  red 
ointment,  to  beg  earnestly,  mad  ox,  to  leap  over,  a  mock 
orator,  great  honor,  great  example. 

III.  In  combinations  where  the  former  word  ends  with 
a  tonic  sound,  and  the  latter  begins  with  a  subtonic  or 
atonic,  there  is  but  little  difficulty  in  making  it  apparent, 
without  hiatus,  which  is  the  final  sound  of  one  word  and 
which  the  beginning  of  the  next,  as  in  the  sentences :  His 
cry  moved  me.  The  tea  refused  to  flow.  He  will  pray  to 
nobody.     He  could  pay  nobody.      The  roiv  proved  long. 

There  will  be  but  little  danger  of  the  consonant  being 
supposed  to  belong  to  the  foregoing  word,  because  the 
tonic  with  which  it  ends  will  have  received  its  full  length 
of  sound  before  the  atonic  or  subtonic  begins, — the  latter 
immediately  opening  into  its  own  word. 

A  hiatus,  or  meeting  of  two  tonic  sounds  without  the 
intervention  of  an  atonic  or  subtonic,  frequently  causes  a 


Implication,  with  Practice  Exercises.     121 

reader  to  make  an  improper  pause  between  words.  If  no 
cessation  be  here  made,  we  almost  always  slightly  insert  w 
or  i/,  subtonics,  which  prevents  the  hiatus;  as,  the  arbor, 
hig).  and  low,  two  hours,  new  onset,  joy  and  merriment, 
gay  age,  to  convey  under,  now  or  never.  In  such  phrases, 
not  ling  is  more  natural  than  that  the  organs  should  fall 
intc  this  action,  slightly  introducing  y  and  w  almost  as  if 
wri  ten  the-y-arbor,  high-y-and  low.  Great  care  should  be 
observed,  however,  not  to  make  the  w  or  y  so  positive  as 
to  )ecome  the  initial  of  the  second  word.  It  is  a  delicate 
inttrmediate  sound,  and  its  exact  use  will  readily  be  de- 
tected by  a  few  repetitions,  avoiding  the  hiatus,  on  the  one 
hard,  and  the  grossness  of  the  error  just  pointed  out,  on 
the  other.     -^ 

112.  The  most  perfect  effects  in  implication,  and  the 
most  frequent  of  occurrence,  are  accomplished  by  the  con- 
tin  lous  murmur  of  the  terminal  subtonic  sounds,  although 
a  1  ighly  agreeable  implication  is  also  effected  by  the  exten- 
sio  1  of  the  vanish  of  -  a  tonic  previous  to  an  initial  sub- 
tor  ic. 

'  The  ^eauty  and  grace  of  this  movement  is  best  exhibited 
in  the  appropriate  utterance  of  the  language  of  repose,  tran- 
quility, sublimity,  dignity,  and  grandeur ;  where  the  quanti- 
ties are  long,  and  the  time*  slow,  allowing  for  the  most 
de  icate  attenuation  of  each  vanish  previous  to  the  opening 
of  the  concrete  with  which  it  is  implicated. 

[mplication,  however,  is  not  always  accompanied  by  the 
de  icate  attenuation  of  the  vanish,  but  is  effected  in  certain 
foims  of  intensified  utterance  by  holding  the  terminal  part 
of  the  concrete  on  the  organs  in  the  grasp  of  final  or 
th  )rough  stress,  by  which  the  word,  especially  if  it  termi- 
ni tes  in  a  subtonic  sound,  seems  to  be  welded,  as  it  were, 
w  th  great  strength  to  the  next  utterance. 

The  simple  implication  of  ordinary  smoothness,  how- 
e^  er,  should  be  the  object  of  the  exercises  to  follow ;  this 

M.  E.— 11. 


122  MurdocJi  s  Elocution. 


once  at  command,  the  intensified  forms  of  its  application 
will  be  easily  acquired,  and  will  enter  into  our  study  of  the 
expressive  application  of  force. 

Of  course,  all  language  does  not  demand  an  equal 
degree  of  implicative  treatment,  as  some  expression  re- 
quires exactly  the  reverse  movement,  consisting  of  the 
staccato  separation  of  words  in  certain  forms  of  light,  trip- 
ping utterance;  or,  where  a  peculiar  passionative  emphasis 
may  demand  the  forcible  disjunction  of  the  verbal  constit- 
uents of  a  phrase  or  sentence. 

In  all  forms  of  utterance,  however,  there  must  be  some 
implication  arising  from  the  natural  "grouping"  of  words 
between  the  pauses 'required  either  by  the  sense  or  the 
expression.  «■ 

"  A  thorough  practical  understanding  and  application  of  the 
principle  of  implication  demonstrates  the  fact  that  our  oral  lan- 
guage is  neither  harsh  nor  monosyllabic  in  its  structure.  These 
graces  once  acquired,  we  shall  not  hear  the  melodious  versification 
of  Shakespeare  injured  by  the  pronunwation  of  words  as  mono- 
syllables which  he  pronounced  as  dissyllables ;  nor  will  the  rich, 
magnificent,  and  exquisitely  collocated  measures  of  Milton  be  sep- 
arated into  chaotic  fragments  from  an  ignorance  of  the  tfue  prin- 
ciples by  which  its  utterance  should  be  regulated^" — Barber.* 

113.  It  should  be  further  re*membered,  in  this  connexion, 
as  a  general  principle  of  taste  or  fitness,  that  the  ordinary  con- 
versation, or  the  familiar  reading  of  commonplace  subjects, 
does  not,  on  the  one  hand,  require  the  same  exactness  or 


■*The  two  writers  who  have  written  the  most  satisfactorily,  or 
indeed  at  all  explicitly,  upon  the  important  element  of  a  finished 
enunciation  comprehended  in  implication,  or  the  junction  of  words, 
are  Smart  and  Barber.  We  are  indebted  to  both  for  much  that  is 
contained  in  the  present  chapter,  which,  as  here  applied  in  the 
light  of  the  present  philosophy  of  vocal  effects,  will  be  of  invalu- 
able aid  to  the  student. 


i 


hnplication,  with  Practice  Exercises.     123 

distinctness  of  articulation  which  is  necessary  to  the  utter- 
ance of  complex  thoughts,  niceties  of  discrimination  in 
details,  or  elaborated  distinctions  and  differences;  nor,  on 
the  other,  the  same  amount  of  grace  and  beauty  in  impli- 
cati/e  effect  that  would  be  demanded  by  the  figures  of 
poe;ry,  or  elevated  and  poetic  forms  of  prose. 

i^  iter  the  whole  organic  process  is  perfectly  at  command, 
thrcugh  careful  and  repeated  practice,  adapt  the  degree  of 
arti:ulative  nicety  and  of  implicative  smoothness  or  force 
to  the  peculiar  character  of  the  language  to  be  uttered. 

We  have  a  fine  illustration  of  the  grace  of  the  implica- 
tior  in  much  of  the  language  of  Read's  poem  of  "Drift- 
ing;" as, 

"  My  soul  to-day 

Is  far  away, 

Sailing  the  Vesuvian  bay." 

Here,  it  will  be  seen,  the  implication  is  in  most  instances 
effected  by  means  of  the  terminal  subtonic  murmur.* 
^Ve  have  a  similar  effect  in  the  following  lines : 

"Return  to  thy  dwelling,  all  lonely  return." 
"Roll  on,  thou  deep  and  dark  blue  ocean,  roll." 


Dr.  Barber,  previous  to  the  discovery  of  the  radical  and  van- 
ish made  use  of  the  marks  in  the  following  example  to  illustrate 
the  flowing  or  continuative  effect  of  the  implication,  which,  as  we 
ha^  e  seen,  is  fully  explained  by  the  principle  of  the  concrete : 

"  My  soul  to-day 

Is  far  away, 

Sailing  the  Vesuvian  bay." 

These  marks  may  still  be  used  by  teachers  for  blackboard  illus- 
tra  ion,  if  accompanied  by  a  full  oral  explanation  of  the  vocal 
mc  vements  by  which  the  implication  is  produced*. 


124  Murdoc/is  Elocution. 

114.  Sheridan  gives  the  following  as  an  example  of  the 
musical  beauty  of  the  semi- vowel  m  (subtonic),  in  the  word 
come,  in  the  enthusiastic  utterance  of  Phaedra;  it  also 
serves  to  illustrate  the  subject  of  implication,  and  the  rela- 
tion of  the  subtonic  sounds  to  this  important  feature  of  a 
perfect  enunciation : 

"Come, — o'er  the  hills,  pursue  the  bounding  stag, 
Come, — chase  the  lion  and  the  foamy  boar, 
Come, — rouse  up  all  the  mbnsters  of  the  wood ; 
For  there,  even  there,  Hippolitus  shall  guard  me." 

The  subjoined  lines  of  Tennyson's  "  Bugle  Song,"  when 
read  (not  sung),  with  prolonged  vanishes  on  the  concretes 
of  the  final  syllables,  will  also  serve  to  illustrate  the  beauty 
of  this  effect  in  speech : 

•'  Blow,  bugle,  blow,  set  the  wild  echoes  flying. 
And  answer,  echoes,  answer,  dying,  dying,  dying." 

115.  Let  the  following  sentences  for  practice  be  read, 
without  reference  so  much  to  the  expressive  character  of 
the  language,  as  to  the  implicative  effects  of  ordinary 
smoothness. 

The  elements  and  syllables  will  be  clear  and  perfect 
individually,  owing  to  the  training  of  former  practice,  the 
energy  of  which,  however,  must  not  be  carried  into  the 
current  of  utterance,  or  the  words  will  each  become  em- 
phasized instead  of  simply  enunciated. 

The  sentences  should  be  first  given  with  deliberation, 
and  with  special  attention  to  the  necessary  junction  of  the 
words.  After  a  satisfactory  smoothness  is  thus  acquired, 
let  the  rate  of  movement  be  gradually  increased  to  extreme 
rapidity,  preserving,  at  the  same  time,  all  the  essentials  of 
their  correct  utterance. 


Implication,  with  Practice  Exercises.      125 

Let  the  rate  of  utterance  be  gradually  diminished  again 
to  a  moderate  movement.  This,  of  course,  is  only  for  the 
discipline  of  practice. 


Sentences  for  Practice. 

"Lie  lightly  on  her,  earth, 
Her  step  was  light  on  thee." 

Let  it  wave  proudly  o'er  the  good  and  brave." 

"Calm  on  its  leaf-strewn  bier, 
Unlike  a  gift  of  Nature  to  Decay." 


"Father!   Thy  hand 
Hath  reared  these  venerable  columns.' 


'  The    excuses   of  youth    for    the    neglect   of   religion  are  those 
\vhi:h  are  most  frequently  offered  and  most  easily  admitted." 

"  F  ist  and  fain,  the  kinsmen's  train,  along  the  storm  pursued  amain." 

"But  ne'er  did  I  feel  in  my  breast,   till  now, 
So  deep,  so  calm,  and  so  holy  a  feeling." 

"Fair  laughs  the  morn,   and  soft  the  zephyr  blows, 
While  proudly  rising  o'er  the  azure  realm, 
In  gallant  trim  the  gilded  vessel  goes; 
Youth  on  the  prow,  and  Pleasure  at  the  helm." 

"  But  speak  no  more  of  his  renown. 
Lay  your  earthly  fancies  down. 
And  in  the  vast  cathedral  leave  him." 

"Whatever  creed  be  taught,  or  land  be  trod, 
Man's  conscience  is  the  oracle  of  God." 


126  Murdoch's  Elocution. 

**  Queen  rose  of  the  rosebud  garden  of  girls, 
Come  hither!  the  dances  are  done, 

In  gloss  of  satin  and  glimmer  of  pearls, 
Queen  lily  and  rose  in  one ; 

Shine  out,  little  head,  running  over  with  curls, 
To  the  flowers,  and  be  their  sun." 

*•  Nor  is  true  soul  ever  born  for  nought ; 
Wherever  any  such  hath  lived  and  died. 
There  hath  been  something  for  true  freedom  wrought." 


"The  good  are  better  made  by  ill. 
As  odors  crushed  are  better  still." 

"Nought  tfeads  so  silent  as  the  foot  of  time;. 
Hence  we  mistake  our  autumn  for  our  prime." 

The  world  was  sad !  — the  garden  was  a  wild ! 
And  man,  the  hermit,  sighed, — till  woman  smiled!' 

Good  arid  bad  herbs  does  the  same  earth  disclose, 
And  near  the  nettle  grows  the  rose." 


Chapter  XIII. 
The  Mode  of  Utterance  in  the  Presentation  of  Language. 

1 1 6.  In  Chapter  II,  exercises  are  given  in  the  different 
forms  of  breathing  produced  by  certain  actions  of  the  re- 
spiratory mechanism;  these  have  been  termed  the  Effusive, 
Expalsive,  and  Explosive;  they  are  invaluable,  as  applied 
to  e  cpression,  and  all  vocal  drill  should  be  conducted  with 
close  attention  to  these  movements.  Unfortunately,  Hke 
many^  other  principles,  this  has  been  entirely  misunderstood 
by  some  writers  on  the  subject  of  elocution,  and  diagrams 
hav(  been  made  of  the  different  degrees  of  pitch  into 
whi(  h  these  forms  extend.  Each  movement  may  be  exe- 
cute d  in  any  and  all  degrees  of  pitch. 

Ii.  the  expression  of  tranquil  emotion,  either  in  the  form 
of  Dathos,  sublimity,  or  the  expression  of  any  quiet 
thoight,  the  breath  flows  out  in  steady  streams,  that  are 
voc;iized  by  quiet  but  firm  action  of  the  organs;  let  these 
emctions  become  more  earnest,  and  the  speaker  finds  that 
the  breath  is  gently  expelled;  this  movement  increases 
witl  the  sentiment,  until  the  overwhelming  fervor  of  the 
oratDr  causes  a  violent  action  of  the  muscular  system,  to 
whi  :h  the  voice-producing  organs  respond,  and  the  more 
forcible  form  of  expulsion  is  the  natural  result.  Again,  a 
cha  ige  of  thought  requires  that  these  grand,  powerfully 
expjlled,  rolling  sounds  shall  be  converted  into  quick, 
rap  d  utterance,  that  bursts  instantaneously  into  powerful 
exp  osion.  The  intelligent  student  readily  grasps  these  dis- 
tinctions   when    illustrated    for    him  ^rally.      In    the    ever 

(127) 


I2S  Murdoch! s  Elocution. 


changing  forms  of  thought,  it  is  not  possible  to  say  that 
any  consecutive  number  of  sentences  must  be  delivered  in 
any  particular  form,  although  there  may  be  a  prevailing 
one.  It  has  been  shown  that  there  is  a  general  movement 
that  conforms  to  one  or  the  other  of  these  three  forms; 
but  it  is  stress^  or  the  force  applied  to  individual  syllables, 
that  controls  these  movements;  as,  in  time  we  have  move- 
ment, but  that  is  governed  by  quantity,  which  is  known  to 
be  syllabic.  Almost  every  word  in  our  language  takes  its 
form,  color,  and  pitch  from  the  sentiment  which  it  is  used 
to  express. 

Before  leaving  this  subject,  I  would  add  that  a  thorough 
understanding  of  the  principle  involved  in  this  practice  is 
urged  upon  the  student,  as  it  is  one  of  great  importance; 
it  is  the  first  means  of  applying  the  cultivated  control  of 
breathing  to  the  expressive  purposes  of  speech;  it  is  of 
great  value  in  overcoming  the  tendency  to  rant  and 
mouth,  common  to  many  young  persons,  simply  because 
their  movements  are  not  the  natural  action  of  organs  used 
to  express  different  emotions. 

In  its  application  it  is  sometimes  carried  too  far;  this 
is  apt  to  be  the  case  when  written  directions  are  given  to 
deliver  whole  selections  in  one  of  these  forms,  without 
regard  to  the  constantly  occurring  variety  of  thought  or 
sentiment  which  may  be  introduced. 


Chapter  XIV. 

Quality. 

137.  Quality  of  voice,  though  confused  with  other 
modes  by  writers  upon  the  subject  of  elocution,  and  never 
assigned  a  distinct  place  among  the  great  principles  of 
speech  before  the  time  of  Dr.  Rush,  is  a  broad  and 
mar  iced  element  of  expression.  It  is  the  character  of 
SOU]  id  or  timbre,  given  to  language,  by  that  state  of  mind 
whi:h  it  interprets,  and  is  recognized  by  the  ear  as  the 
natural  index  to  the  mental  condition  of  the  speaker,  in 
whatever  circumstances  he  may  be,  for  the  moment, 
placed.  The  elocutionist,  for  the  purposes  of  study, 
classes,  like  the  musician,  all  qualities  under  the  two  heads 
of  pure  and  impure;  but,  unlike  the  musician,  he  makes 
use  of  both  to  express  emotion.  Under  the  head  of  pure 
quality,  he  recognizes  all  those  sounds  of  the  voice  which 
posjess  that  clear  ring  of  vocality  demanded  in  music  for 
its  notes,  and  which,  in  speech,  are  appropriate  to  the 
utt( ranee  of  all  cheerful  emotion;  calmness,  tranquillity, 
ser<:nity,  and  the  other  members  of  this  genial  family  of 
association,  together  with  love,  gentleness,  tenderness, 
sad  less,  melancholy,  subdued  grief,  and  other  moderate 
forms  of  pathos,  all  flow  naturally  in  a  quiet  stream  of 
puie,  liquid  sound,  expressive  of  their  gentle  character. 
So]  imnity  and  awe,  also,  when  not  overcast  by  fear,  re- 
quire  purity,  though  low  in  its  range,  while  cheerfulness, 
gla  iness,  and  joy  have  their  peculiar,  high-pitched  vocality, 
the)  t  rings  as  clearly   upon  the  ear  as  the  sound  of   a  bell. 

(129) 


30  Murdoch' s  Elocution. 


Impure  quality  of  voice,  as  contrasted  with  the  clear, 
liquid  flow  of  the  pure^  is  distinguished  by  a  certain  aspi- 
rated sound,  caused  by  a  portion  of  the  air  set  in  motion 
not  being  converted  into  vocal  sound,  and  yet  vibrating  in 
combination  with  it.  By  a  great  law  of  nature,  all  sounds 
are  attuned  to  the  causes  whence  they  spring  and  their 
effects;  this  law  is  distinctly  legible  in  the  operations  of 
the  voice.  It  is  most  obviously  felt  in  the  contrast  of  the 
gentle,  winning  sounds  heard  in  the  voice  of  woman,  and 
the  bolder  and  more  powerful  vocality  of  man.  Mildness, 
meekness,  tenderness,  pathos,  and  persuasion,  in  their 
quality  of  silvery  sweetness,  exercise  a  powerful  sway  over 
the  heart  of  man,  from  his  infancy  to  old  age ;  while  the 
power,  authority,  and  command  exhibited  in  the  strong 
qualities  characteristic  of  man's  utterance,  assert  his  do- 
minion not  only  over  the  subject  animal  races,  but  also  in 
that  supremacy  of  rank  which  military  laws  assign  for  the 
purposes  of  discipline.  Although  intonation  is  the  natural 
and  inevitable  interpreter  of  human  feelings,  yet  the  lan- 
guage of  emotion  is  never  so  broadly  marked  as  in  the 
utterance  of  pure  and  impure  quality. 

ii8.  The  constituent  of  quality  plays  an  important  part 
in  the  uses  of  speech,  but  it  can  only  be  defined  in  its 
broader  and  more  general  forms,  which  must  serve  as  a 
basis  upon  which  to  build  a  knowledge  of  its  more  del- 
icate and  evanescent  shades  of  color.  As  the  ear  has  its 
many  minute  chords  to  respond  to  the  infinite  sounds  of 
nature,  so  the  organs  of  voice  produce  a  thousand  delicate 
shades  of  quality  that  correspond  with  all  the  various 
feelings  and  emotions  of  our  nature.  We  express  this 
coloring  of  expression  when  we  speak  of  the  ' '  bright  .and 
sunny  tones  of  cheerful  and  joyous*  feeling,  the  somber 
tones  of  deep  emotion,  the  warmth  of  heart  issuing  in 
tones  of  love,  or  the  metallic,  cold  ring  of  indifference  or 
aversion." 


Quality.  131 


^[usicians,  observing  the  characteristic  differences  given 
to  vocal  sounds  by  the  cavities  of  the  chest  and  throat, 
described  each  as  having  a  certain  scale,  which  they  called 
register,  and  noted  by  them  under  the  distinctive  terms  of 
cheit,  middle,  and  head  register.*  Speech  can  not  be 
tried  with  the  same  exacting  rigor  upon  which  music  in- 
sist;^,  when  applying  a  standard  of  measurement  to  the 
voice.  In  speech  we  have  no  registers;  the  voice  has  a 
con  pass  which,  in  most  persons,  by  cultivation,  may  in- 
clude three  octaves;  this  runs  into  the  falsetto.  A  per- 
fectly developed  voice  for  speech  should  have  every  note 
of  this  compass  so  perfected  in  clearness,  fullness,  and 
smcothness  that  it  may  be  struck  truly  as  expression  de- 
mands. Speech  notes  have  been  classified  as  those  of 
son  5;  in  the  lower  notes  of  the  speaking  voice,  when 
uncer  the  influence  of  some  strong  emotion,  and  more 
par  icularly  under  the  inspiration  of  poetry,  we  may  per- 
cei^e  a  marked  resonance  of  sound,  which  seems  to  the 
ear  as  though  issuing  from  the  chest,  similar  to  the  ^^iwce 
di  i^ettoy  In  the  high,  ringing  notes  of  extreme  joy,  the 
voice  seems  to  issue  as  a  stream  of  sound,  whose  fountain 
is  tiie  head.  Whilst  the  calm  utterances  of  unimpassioned 
tho  ight  range  through  the  middle  compass  or  scale  of  the 
voi«;e. 

\/hen  in  the  full  breadth,  depth,  and  heaving  force  of 
his  tempestuous  passion,  Othello  exclaims:  "Like  to  the 
Poi.tic  Sea,"  etc.,  his  voice  sinks  into  the  deep,  broad, 
ma  estic   movement    of    the    most    powerful    chest   notes. 


^  Signer  Garcia's  definition  of  a  register  being  "a  series  of  con- 
seci  tive  and  homogeneous  sounds,  rising  from  the  grave  to  the 
acu  e,  produced  by  the  development  of  the  same  mechanical  prin- 
cip  e,  the  nature  of  which  essentially  differs  from  any  other  series 
of  sounds  equally  consecutive  and  homogeneous,  produced  by 
another  mechanical  principle." 


132  Murdoch's  Eloctition. 


"His  mind  wreaks  itself  upon  expression,"  and  his  emo- 
tion seems  engulfed  in  the  lowest  depths  of  the  fierce 
utterance,  "Swallow  them  up."  These  have  their  contrast 
in  the  harsh,  fierce  scream  of  uncontrollable  rage,  which 
pierces  the  ear  when  he  exclaims : 

"  If  I  do  prove  her  haggard, 
Though  that  her  jesses  were  my  dear  heart-strings, 
I'd  whistle  her  off,  and  let  her  down  the  wind, 
To  prey  at  fortune." 

And  again,  in  the  passionate  exclamation : 

"I'll  tear  her  all  to  pieces!" 

119.  This  mode  of  the  voice,  termed  vocality,  though  of 
an  individual  character  in  its  nature  and  attributes,  must 
be  regarded  in  the  study  of  elocution  as  possessing  associ- 
ative tendencies.  It  may  be  combined  with  force,  time, 
pitch,  and  abruptness,  for  some  kinds  of  vocality  must  of 
necessity  be  united  with  some  of  the  forms,  degrees,  and 
varieties  of  the  other  four  modes.  Though  diagrams  can 
be  used  to  exemplify  movements  in  pitch,  there  is  no 
power  in  notation,  as  known  at  present,  to  express  the 
quality  of  sounds.  They  must,  therefore,  be  left  to  a 
metaphorical  nomenclature,  always  a  questionable  order  as 
an  element  of  distinct  information. 

120.  The  elder  Garcia  said  of  the  voice  in  song,  and  it 
is  of  like  import  in  speech,  that  ''its  beauty  constitutes 
ninety-nine  hundredths  of  the  power  of  a  singer."  The 
cultivation  of  the  quality  of  the  voice  can  not  be  too 
strongly  impressed  upon  all.  It  is  the  most  precious  ele- 
ment of  speech,  as  it  is,  undeniably,  of  song.  All 
voices  have  certain  qualities  of  sound  by  which  they 
may  be  recognized  as  tunable  or  untunable,  pleasing  or 
displeasing  to  the  ear.     The  different  qualities  of  voice  are 


Quality.  133 


the  Natural,  Orotund,  Aspirated,  Guttural,  and  Pectoral. 
The  first  quality  to  be  considered  is  the  natural,  or  pure 
tone,  as  it  is  frequently  called,  the  latter  term  being  a  mis- 
nomer, and  belongs  exclusively  to  song;  the  speech  voice 
is  called  pure  only  in  a  relative  sense,  as  opposed  to  im- 
pure or  aspirated  qualities. 

121.  In  the  construction  of  syllables  in  the  EngHsh  lan- 
guage, the  consonants  stand  in  the  proportion  of  three  to 
one  vowel.  In  speech,  the  rapid  change  of  organs  from 
the  vowel  to  the  consonant,  produces  a  certain  amount  of 
noi;e,  which  mingles  with  the  more  musical  vowel.  "In 
sinj.ing,  the  timbre:,  or  musical  part  of  the  vowel,  is  most 
dw'ilt  upon,  and  this  is  heard  to  a  much  greater  distance." 
In  seeking  to  attain  to  this  musical  purity  in  the  cultivation 
of  /oices  in  the  present  day,  the  timbre  of  many  voices  is 
injured  because  this  difference  is  not  sufficiently  under- 
stood. 

''he  singer  aids  the  elocutionist,  and  vice  versa,  where 
the  methods  are  both  correctly  taught  and  practiced.  All 
elo:utionary  discipline  has  as  its  primary  object  the  culti- 
vation of  this  natural  quality  to  the  highest  degree  of 
peifection,  that  shall  be  free  from  all  the  prevalent  faults 
of  neglect,  perverted  habit,  and  artificial  exaggeration. 
This  true  quality  of  voice  that  is  round,  clear,  full,  and 
sw  ;et,  and  that  is  too  generally  regarded  as  a  special  gift 
of  nature  to  the  favored  few,  is  heard  in  listening  to  chil- 
dr(  n's  voices  in  their  healthy,  merry,  thoughtless  play ;  it 
chjms  the  ear  with  its  beautiful,  clear,  ringing  notes. 
In  udicious  education,  in  its  repressing  character,  curbs 
th(  natural  impulse,  and  binds  the  child  to  false  uses  of 
th(  voice,  whereas  a  judicious  training  at  this  important 
pe  iod  should  preserve  the  original  gift,  which  is  almost 
ah 'ays  good. 

£22.  This  natural  voice  has  been  termed  a  perfect 
sp  lere  of  sound,  partaking  equally  of  nasality,  head  tone, 


134  Murdoch'' s  Elocution, 

laryngeal  quality,  and  resonance  from  the  chest;  it  rever- 
berates in  the  mouth.  The  breath,  as  it  passes  from  the 
larynx,  rings  through  the  nasal  passages  and  head,  and 
strikes  against  the  forward  part  of  the  bony  arch  of  the 
mouth,  which  gives  to  the  notes  their  brilliancy. 

The  first  exercises  in  voice  production  should  be  prac- 
ticed, keeping  these  points  in  the  mind  until  the  voice  is 
clear,  firm  and  ringing;  the  reader  may  then,  under  the 
restraining  influence  of  taste,  make  use,  at  times,  of  the 
different  varieties  of  quality  which  have  been  character- 
ized as  faulty,  in  order  to  heighten  the  expressive  effect 
of  his  language.  These  imitated  qualities  will  then  fall  as 
agreeably  upon  the  ear  as  the  discords  that  are  some- 
times struck  in  music  to  throw  into  strong  relief  the  cur- 
rent of  its  progressive  harmonies.  The  compass  of  the 
natural  quality  includes  a  range  of  pitch  from  the  lowest 
utterable  sound  up  to  that  point  where  the  voice  breaks ; 
this  quality  should  be  practiced  in  the  discrete  and  con- 
crete movements.  By  the  wider  concrete  intervals,  the 
voice  may  be  carried  into  the  falsetto  without  breaking. 

Having,  in  the  chapter  on  articulation,  given  the  posi- 
tions of  the  organs  in  the  production  of  natural  quality, 
we  now  give  an  illustration  of  the  carrying  power  which 
sounds  may  receive  as  they  issue  from  the  larynx  by  the 
force  and  precision  with  which  they  are  sounded.  Thus, 
if  a  ball  is  held  in  the  closed  hand,  and  the  fingers 
opened,  the  ball  falls  to  the  ground ;  but,  by  making  a 
slight  muscular  exertion,  it  is  projected  or  impelled  through 
space.  Thus,  the  sounds  in  these  first  exercises  should 
be  ejected,  not  allowed  to  fall,  from  the  mouth ;  this  de- 
gree of  force  can  only  be  acquired  gradually  and  easily 
by  practice  in  throwing  the  voice  across  a  room,  and  by 
degrees  increasing  the  space  until  firmness  and  roundness 
are  gained.  Furthermore,  this  firmness  of  tone  is  affected 
in   speech   notes   by   the    ''flexible   strength"    with   which 


Examples  in  Natural  Quality.  135 

all  cf  the  tone  producing  organs  are  held.  The  voice  is 
so  delicate  that,  if  even  the  lips  are  held  rigid,  the  tone 
will  partake  of  rigidity;  consequently,  its  radical  must  be 
stru(k  clear,  held  firm,  and  the  vanish  allowed  to  fade 
delicately. 

123.  First  practice  upon  articulation  in  whisper,  alter- 
nating with  vocality.  In  the  cultivation  of  the  voice  in 
the  natural  quality,  it  should  be  practiced  softly  at  first, 
with  daily  increasing  force,  first  upon  tonic  elements,  as 
in  Chapter  V;  through  the  tables  of  concrete  and  dis- 
crete intervals.  Chapter  VII;  on  the  subtonic  and  atonic 
elements.  Chapters  VIII,  IX;  and,  at  last,  on  elements 
in  syllabic  combinations.   Chapter  X. 

The  following  readings  are  for  practice  in  ''Natural 
Quclity,"   "Effusive  Form,"  and  ''Subdued  Force." 


Examples  in   Natural  Quality, 
tranquillity. 

"Come,  pensive  Nun,  devout  and  pure, 
Sober,  stedfast,  and  demure, 
All  in  a  robe  of  darkest  grain, 
Flowing  with  majestick  train, 
And  sable  stole  of  cypress  lawn, 
Over  thy  decent  shoulders  drawn. 
Come,  but  keep  thy  wonted  state, 
With  even  step,   and  musing  gait; 
And  looks  commercing  with  the  skies, 
Thy  rapt  soul  sitting  in  thine  eyes: 
There,  held  in  holy  passion  still, 
Forget  thyself  to  marble,  till 
With  a  sad  leaden  downward  cast 
Thou  fix  them  on  the  earth  as  fast : 
And  join  with  thee  calm  Peace,  and  Quiet, 
Spare  Fast,  that  oft  with  gods  doth  diet, 


136  Murdoch's  Elocution. 

And  hears  the  Muses  in  a  ring 

Aye  round  about  Jove's  altar  sing. 

And  add  to  these  retired  Leisure, 

That  in  trim  gardens  takes  his  pleasure: 

But  first  and  chiefest  with  thee  bring, 

Him  that  yon  soars  on  golden  wing, 

Guiding  the  fiery-wheeled  throne, 

The  cherub  Contemplation ; 

And  the  mute  Silence  hist  along, 

'Less  Philomel  will  deign  a  song. 

In  her  sweetest,  saddest  plight, 

Smoothing  the  rugged  brow  of  night. 

While  Cynthia  checks  her  dragon  yoke, 

Gently  o'er  the  accustom'd  oak : 

Sweet  bird,  that  shunn'st  the  noise  of  folly, 

Most  musical,  most  melancholy! 

Thee,  chauntress,  oft,  the  woods  among, 

I  woo,  to  hear  thy  even  song; 

And,  missing  thee,  I  walk  unseen 

On  the  dry    smooth-shaven  green. 

To  behold  the  wandering  moon 

Riding  near  her  highest  noon. 

Like  one  that  had  been  led  astray 

Through  the  heaven's  wide  pathless  way; 

And  oft,  as  if  her  head  she  bow'd. 

Stooping  through  a  fleecy  cloud." 

— '' II  Penseroso,""  Milton. 


"  It  was  an  eve  of  autumn's  holiest  mood. 
The  corn-fields,   bathed  in  Cynthia's  silver  light. 
Stood  ready  for  the  reaper's  gathering  hand ; 
And  all  the  winds  slept  soundly.     Nature  seemed 
In  silent  contemplation  to  adore 
Its  maker.     Now  and  then  the  aged  leaf 
Fell  from  its  fellows,  rustling  to  the  ground ; 
And,   as  it  fell,  bade  man  think  on  his  end. 

Vesper  looked  forth 
From  out  her  western  hermitage,  and  smiled ; 
And  up  the  east,  unc]/Ouded^  rose  the  moon 


Examples  in  Natural  Quality.  137 

With  all  her  stars,  gazing  on  earth  intense, 
As  if  she  saw  some  wonder  working  there." 

—Robert  Pollok. 

"Queen  of  the  silver  bow,  by  thy  pale  beam. 

Alone  and  pensive  I  delight  to  stray, 
And  watch  thy  shadow  trembling  in  the  stream, 

Or  mark  the  floating  clouds  that  cross  thy  way. 
And  while  I  gaze,  thy  mild  and  placid  light 

Sheds  a  soft  calm  upon  my  troubled  breast ; 
And  oft  I  think,  fair  planet  of  the  night. 

That  in  thy  orb  the  wretched  may  have  rest: 
The  sufferers  of  the  earth  perhaps  may  go, 

Releas'd  by  death,  to  thy  benignant  sphere, 
And  the  sad  children  of  despair  and  woe 

Forget  in  thee  their  cup  of  sorrow  here. 
Oh!  that  I  soon  may  reach  thy  world  serene. 
Poor  weary  pilgrim  in  this  toiling  scene." 

— Charlotte  Smith. 

PATHOS. 

"Ayr  gurgling  kiss'd  his  pebbled  shore, 

O'erhung  with  wild  woods  thick'ning  green : 
The  fragrant  birch,  and  hawthorn  hoar. 

Twined  amorous  'round  the  raptured  scene. 
The  flowers  sprang  wanton  to  be  prest ; 

The  birds  sang  love  on  every  spray ; 
Till  too,  too  soon  the  glowing  west 

Proclaim'd  the  speed  of  winged  day. 

"Still  o'er  these  scenes  my  memory  wakes. 

And  fondly  broods  with  miser  care ; 
Time  but  the  impression  stronger  makes. 

As  streams  their  channels  deeper  wear. 
My  Mary,  dear  departed  shade ! 

Where  is  thy  place  of  blissful  rest? 
Seest  thou  thy  lover  lowly  laid  ? 

Hear'st  thou  the  groans  that  rend  his  breast?" 

— Extract  from  "7b  Mary  in  Heaven,^'  BURNS. 
M.  E.-12. 


138  Murdoch's  Elocution. 


CONTENT. 

Content!   the  good,  the  golden  mean, 

The  safe  estate  that  sits  between 

The  sordid  poor  and  miserable  great, 

The  humble  tenant  of  a  rural  seat! 

In  vain  we  wealth  and  treasure  heap ; 

He  'mid  his  thousand  kingdoms  still  is  poor, 

That  for  another  crown  does  weep; 

'Tis  only  he  is  rich,  that  wishes  for  no  more." 

— Anonymous. 

All  language  of  a  grave  and  serious  character,  in  the 
form  of  essays,  doctrinal  and  practical  sermons,  quiet  nar- 
rative, and  plain  statement  of  unimpassioned  thought,  de- 
mands the  natural  quality  of  voice,  gentle  force,  and  the 
effusive,  or  gently  expulsive  movement  in  its  delivery. 

GRAVE. 

"  But  man  is  higher  than  his  dwelling-place ;  he  looks  up  and 
unfolds  the  wings  of  his  soul,  and  when  the  sixty  minutes,  which 
we  call  sixty  years,  have  passed,  he  takes  flight,  kindling  as  he 
rises;  and  the  ashes  of  his  feathers  fall  back  to  earth,  and  the  un- 
veiled soul,  freed  from  its  covering  of  clay,  and  pure  as  a  tone, 
ascends  on  high.  Even  in  the  midst  of  the  dim  shadows  of  life, 
he  sees  the  mountains  of  a  future  world  gilded  with  the  morning 
rays  of  a  sun  which  rises  not  here  below.  So  the  inhabitant  of 
polar  regions  looks  into  the  long  night  in  which  there  is  no  sun- 
rise ;  but  at  midnight  he  sees  a  light,  like  the  first  rosy  rays  of 
dawn,  gleaming  on  the  highest  mountain  tops;  and  he  thinks  of 
his  long  summer  in  which  it  never  sets." 

— Jean  Paul. 

**  In  order  to  lead  a  religious  life  in  the  world,  every  action 
must  be  governed  by  religious  motives.  It  is  not  by  any  means 
implied    that,  in  all   the  familiar  actions  of  our  daily  life,  religion 


f» 


Examples  in  Natural  Quality.  139 

must  form  a  direct  and  conscious  object  of  thought;  the  mind  can 
no  piore  think  of  heaven  and  earth  at  the  same  moment,  than  the 
bod}  can  be  in  heaven  and  earth  at  the  same  time.  Moreover, 
there  are  few  kinds  of  work  in  the  world  that,  to  be  done  well, 
musi  not  be  done  heartily;  many  that  require,  in  order  to  excel- 
lenci:,  the  whole  condensed  force  and  energy  of  the  highest  mind. 
But  although  we  can  not,  in  our  worldly  work,  be  always  thinking 
of  rjligion,  yet,  unconsciously,  insensibly,  we  may  be  acting  under 
its  ever  present  control." 

— Extract  from  "-Latent  Principles  of  Religion.''     Caird. 


SOLEMNITY. 

Cne  or  two  degrees  lower  in  pitch  than  the  serious,  and 

slover  time. 

*'Upon  the  king!   let  us  our  lives,  our  souls. 
Our  debts,  our  careful  wives. 
Our  children,  and  our  sins,  lay  on  the  king; 
We  must  bear  all. 

O  hard  condition,  twin-born  with  greatness, 
Subject  to  the  breath  of  every  fool,  whose  sense 
No  more  can  feel  but  his  own  wringing ! 
What  infinite  heart's  ease  must  kings  neglect, 
That  private  men  enjoy  ! 

And  what  have  kings  that  privates  have  not  too. 
Save  ceremony,  save  general  ceremony? 
And  what  art  thou,   thou  idol  ceremony  ? 
What  kind  of  god  art  thou,  that  suffer'st  more 
Of  mortal  griefs  than  do  thy  worshippers? 
What  are  thy  rents?    What  are  thy  comings  in? 
O  ceremony,  shew  me  but  thy  worth ! 
What  is  thy  soul  of  adoration  ? 
Art  thou  aught  else  but  place,  degree,  and  form, 
Creating  awe  and  fear  in  other  men  ? 
Wherein  thou  art  less  happy,  being  fear'd, 
Than  they  in  fearing." 

— Ixtract  from  ''  King  Henry  F,"  Act  IV,  Scene  I.     Shakespeare. 


140  Murdoch's  Elocution. 


SERIOUS. 

'•It  is  not  mere  poetry  to  talk  of  the  "voices  of  summer."  It 
is  the  daytime  of  the  year,  and  its  myriad  influences  are  audibly 
at  work.  Even  by  night,  you  may  lay  your  ear  to  the  ground, 
and  hear  that  faintest  of  murmurs,  the  sound  of  growing  things. 
I  used  to  think,  when  I  was  a  child,  that  it  was  fairy  music.  If 
you  have  been  used  to  early  rising,  you  have  not  forgotten  how 
the  stillness  of  the  night  seems  increased  by  the  timid  note  of  the 
first  bird.  It  is  the  only  time  when  I  would  lay  a  finger  on  the 
lip  of  nature,  the  deep  hush  is  so  very  solemn.  By  and  by,  how- 
ever, the  birds  are  all  up,  and  the  peculiar  holiness  of  the  hour 
declines,  but  what  a  world  of  music  does  the  sun  shine  on !  the 
deep  lowing  of  the  cattle  blending  in  with  the  capricious  warble 
of  a  thousand  of  God's  happy  creatures,  and  the  stir  of  industry 
coming  on  the  air  like  the  undertones  of  a  choir,  and  the  voice 
of  man,  heard  in  the  distance  over  all,  like  a  singer  among  instru- 
ments, giving  them  meaning  and  language." 

-Extract  from  '■'■Unwritten  Music. '^     N.  P.  WiLLls. 


DESCRIPTIVE. 

Natural  Quality,  moderate  force,  middle  pitch,  unimpas- 
sioned  radical. 

**  From  Leamington  to  Stratford-on-Avon  the  distance  is  eight 
or  nine  miles,  over  a  road  that  seemed  to  me  most  beautiful.  Not 
that  I  can  recall  any  memorable  peculiarities;  for  the  country, 
most  of  the  way,  is  a  succession  of  the  gentlest  swells  and  subsi- 
dences, affording  wide  and  far  glimpses  of  champaign  scenery  here 
and  there,  and  sinking  almost  to  a  dead  level  as  we  draw  near 
Stratford.  Any  landscape  in  New  England,  even  the  tamest,  has 
a  more  striking  outline,  and  besides  would  have  its  blue  eyes 
open  in  those  lakelets  that  we  encounter  almost  from  mile  to  mile 
at  home,  but  of  which  the  Old  Country  is  utterly  destitute;  or  it 
would  smile  in  our  faces  through  the  medium  of  the  wayside 
brooks  that  vanish  under  a  low  stone  arch  on  one  side  of  the 
road,  and  sparkle  out  again  on  the  other.  Neither  of  these  pretty 
features  is  often  to  be  found  in  an  English  scene.     The  charm  of 


W  l^ff 


Examples  in  Natural  Quality.  141 

the  1  itter  consists  in  the  rich  verdure  of  the  fields,  in  the  stately 
wayside  trees  and  carefully  kept  plantations  of  wood,  and  in  the 
old  rnd  high  cultivation  that  has  humanized  the  very  sod*  by 
ming  ing  so  much  of  man's  toil  and  care  among  them." 

'■'■Recollections  of  a  Gifted  Woman.''''     Hawthorne. 

ANIMATED. 

Tliis  requires  higher  pitch  than  the  serious,  more  force, 
and  quicker  time;  but  it  is  still  natural  quality,  and  clear 
radical  movement. 

"  Language! — the  blood  of  the  soul,  Sir!  into  which  our  thoughts 
run,  and  out  of  which  they  grow  !  We  know  what  a  word  is 
wort  1  here  in  Boston.  Young  Sam  Adams  got  up  on  the  stage  at 
Com  nencement,  out  at  Cambridge  there,  with  his  gown  on,  the 
Govt  rnor  and  Council  looking .  on  in  the  name  of  his  Majesty, 
Kinj  George  the  Second,  and  the  girls  looking  down  out  of  the 
galkries,  and  taught  people  how  to  spell  a  word  that  wasn't  in 
the  ;olonial  dictionaries!  R-e,  re,  s-i-s,  sis,  t-a-n-c-e,  tance,  resist- 
ance !  That  was  in  '43,  and  it  was  a  good  many  years  before  the 
Bost  )n  boys  began  spelling  it  with  their  muskets ; — but  when  they 
did  oegin,  they  spelt  it  so  loud  that  the  old  bedridden  women  in 
the  English  almshouses  heard  every  syllable  !  Yes,  yes,  yes, — it 
was  a  good  while  before  those  other  two  Boston  boys  got  the  class 
so  f:,r  along  that  it  could  spell  those  two  hard  words,  Independ- 
ence and  Union!  I  tell  you  what.  Sir,  there  are  a  thousand  lives, 
aye,  sometimes  a  million,  go  to  get  a  new  word  into  a  language 
that  is  worth  speaking.  We  know  what  language  means  too  well 
here  in  Boston  to  play  tricks  with  it.  We  never  make  a  new 
worl  till  we  have  made  a  new  thing  or  a  new  thought,  Sir!" 
Extract  from  ^'■The  Professor  at  the  Breakfast  Table.''''     Holmes. 


ENTHUSIASM. 

*•  Him  have  I  seen  ! — oh,  sight  to  cheer 
The  patriot  when  he  bleeding  lies, 
To  kindle  hope  and  scatter  fear, 
And  light  new  fire  in  dying  eyes  ! 


142  Murdoch's  Elocution. 

*'The  snow-white  war-horse  he  bestrode 
Stept  conscious,  with  a  soul  of  flame, 
As  if  he  knew  his  master  rode 

Straight  to  the  glorious  gates  of  Fame. 

"The  coldest  gazer's  heart  grew  warm,  ^ 

And  felt  no  more  its  indecision ;  ^ 

For  every  soul  which  saw  that  form  ^_ 

Grew  larger  to  contain  the  vision.  //,j 


I 


"'Him  have  I  seen,'   the  boy  exclaimed; 

'  Yes,  him  !   what  needs  he  to  be  named  ? 
The  world  has  only  one  broad  sun. 

And  Freedom's  world  but  Washington." 

Extract  from  ^^The   Wagoner  of  the  Alleghanies.''     READ. 


SPRIGHTLY. 

"'Thy  grandmother,'  said  Uncle  Toby,  addressing  himself  to 
young  Laura,  just  from  the  city,  and  who  was  playing  'The  Battle 
of  Marengo,'  on  the  piano,  "thy  grandmother,  child,  used  to  play 
upon  a  much  better  instrument  than  thine.'  *  Indeed,'  said  Laura, 
'  how  could  it  have  been  better  ?  You  know  it  is  the  most  fash- 
ionable instrument,  and  is  used  by  everybody  that  is  any  thing.^ 
'  Your  grandmother  was  something,  and  yet  she  never  saw  a  piano- 
forte.' 'But  what  was  the  name  of  the  instrument?  Had  it 
strings,  and  was  it  played  by  the  hand?'  'You  must  give  me 
time  to  recollect  the  name;  it  was,  indeed,  a  stringed  instrument, 
and  was  played  with  the  hand.'  'By  the  hands  alone?  How 
vulgar!  But  I  should  really  like  to  see  one;  and  papa  must  buy 
me  one  when  I  return  to  the  city  ;  do  you  think  we  can  obtain 
one?'  'No,  you  probably  will  not  obtain  one  there,  but  doubtless 
they  may  be  found  in  some  of  the  country  towns.'  *  How  many 
strings  had  it?  Must  one  play  with  both  hands?  And  could  one 
play  the  double  base  ? '  *  I  know  not  whether  it  would  play  the 
double  base,  as  you  call  it ;  but  it  was  played  with  both  hands, 
and  had  two  strings.'  'Two  strings  only?  Surely  you  are  jest- 
ing !  How  could  good  music  be  produced  from  such  an  instru- 
ment, when  the  piano  has  two  or  three  hundred?'  'Oh,  the 
strings  were  very   long,  one   of   them  about  fourteen  feet ;   and  the 


Examples  in  Natural  Quality,  143 

othei  may  be  lengthened  at  pleasure,  even  to  fifty  feet  or  more.' 
'What  a  prodigious  deal  of  room  it  must  take  up!  But  no  matter, 
I  wi  1  have  mine  in  the  old  hall,  and  papa  may  have  an  addition 
made  to  it,  for  he  says  I  shall  never  want  for  anything,  and  so  does 
mamma.  But  what  kin-d  of  sound  did  it  make?  Were  the  strings 
struck  with  little  mallets,  like  the  piano?  or  were  they  snapped 
like  a  harp  ? '  '  Like  neither  of  those  instruments,  as  I  recollect, 
but  t  produced  a  soft  kind  of  humming  music,  and  was  peculiarly 
agreeable  to  the  husband  and  relations  of  the  performer.'  *Oh,  as 
to  pleasing  one's  husband  or  relations,  you  know  that  is  altogether 
vulgar  in  fashionable  society.  But  I  am  determined  to  have  one, 
at  any  rate.  Was  it  easily  learned?  and  was  it  taught  by  French 
and  Italian  masters?'  'It  was  easily  learned,  but  taught  neither 
by  I  renchmen  nor  Italians.'  'Can  you  not  possibly  remember  the 
name  ?  How  shall  we  know  what  to  inquire  for?'  'Yes,  I  do 
now  remember  the  name  ;  and  you  must  inquire  for  a  Spinning 
Whejl.'" 

— '^'■The  Musical  Instrument.''''     Anonymous. 


PATRIOTISM. 

Breathes  there  a  man,  with  soul  so  dead, 

Who  never  to  himself  hath  said, 

This  is  my  own,  my  native  land ! 

Whose  heart  hath  ne'er  within  him  burn'd, 

As  home  his  footsteps  he  hath  turn'd 

From  wandering  on  a  foreign  strand  ! 

If  such  there  breathe,  go,   mark  him  well ; 

For  him  no  Minstrel  raptures  swell ; 

High  though  his  titles,   proud  his  name. 

Boundless  his  wealth  as  wish  can  claim ; 

Despite  those  titles,   power,  and  pelf, 

The  wretch,   concentred  all  in  self. 

Living,  shall  forfeit  fair  renown  ; 

And,   doubly  dying,  shall  go  down 

To  the  vile  dust,  from  which  he  sprung, 

Unwept,   unhonor'd,   and  unsung. 

O  Caledonia !   stern  and  wild, 

Meet  nurse  for  a  poetic  child  !  " 

Extract  from   '■'■Lay  of  the  Last  Minstrel.'"     ScOTT. 


144  Murdoch's  Elocution, 


GAIETY. 

"I  chatter  over  stony  ways, 
In  little  sharps  and  trebles, 
I  bubble  into  eddying  bays, 
I  babble  on  the  pebbles. 

'♦  With  many  a  curve  my  banks  I  fret 
By  many  a  field  and  fallow, 
And  many  a  fairy  foreland  set 
With  willow-weed  and  mallow. 

*  I  chatter,  chatter,  as  I  flow 

To  join  the  brimming  river, 
For  men  may  come  and  men  may  go, 
But  I  go  on  forever." 

— Extract  from  "  The  Brook.''''     TENNYSON. 

I. 

*  Once,  at  midnight,  just  as  Arktos, 
Turns  him  'neath  Bootes'  hand. 
And  the  wearied  race  of  mortals 
Sleeps  in  peace  throughout  the  land, 
Came  that  little  urchin,  Cupid, 
Knocking  at  my  bolted  door; 

And  I  rose  in  much  displeasure. 

That  my  blissful  dreams  were  o'er. 

•Who,'  said  I,   'knocks  at  my  portals? 

Who  intrudes  on  my  repose?' 

Then  said  Cupid,  *  Open  to  me ; 

Hear  the  story  of  my  woes. 

Do  not  fear  me,   I'll  not  harm  you, 

I  am  but  a  simple  child, 

Wet,  and  chilled,  and  sad  I  wander. 

Guided  by  no  moonbeams  mild.'  " 


II. 


Then  my  heart  is  touched  with  pity. 
Listening  to  a  tale  so  dire, 
And  I  open  wide  my  portals. 


M 


M.  E— 13. 


Examples  in  Natural  Quality.  145 

Lead  him  to  the  cheerful  fire ; 

And  the  bright  *glow  soon  discloses 

A  fair  child  with  wings  supplied, 

And  a  shining  bow,  and  arrows 

In  a  quiver  -by  his  side. 

Quick  he  seats  him  by  my  hearth-stone ; 

Wrings  the  glistening  drops  of  water 

From  his  clustering  locks  of  hair, 

Which  the  night  dew  had  sprinkled  there; 

But  no  sooner  has  the  chillness 

Given  place  to  warmth  and  glow. 

Than  he  says,  '  I  fear  the  dampness 

May  have  relaxed  my  bow, — 

Let  me  try.'     Then  swift  an  arrow 

Sends  he  to  my  inmost  heart ; 

Frenzied  I,  but  Cupid,  laughing 

At  his  well  directed  dart. 

Cries,   *  Congratulate  me,  stranger, 

For  my  weapon  still  has  power; 

I  have  proved  it,  and  you  suffer 

Pain  and  anguish  from  this  hour.'  " 

— A  translation  from  the  Greek  of  AnacREON. 


GAY    OR    BRISK. 

'*  Pack  clouds  away. 

And  welcome  day ! 
With  night  we'll  banish  sorrow. 

Sweet  air,  blow  soft, 

Mount  larks  aloft. 
To  give  my  love  Good-morrow. 

Blackbird  and  thrush 

In  every  bush. 
Spare  linnet,  and  blithe  sparrow. 

Ye  pretty  elves, 

Among  yourselves, 
Sing  my  sweet  love  Good-morrow." 

— Heywood,  1638. 


146  Murdoch's  Elocution. 


The  Call. 

124.  In  the  cultivation  of  the  speech  voice,  the  purest 
sounds  are  produced  in  the  call.  This  can  be  explained 
from  the  fact  that,  to  enable  the  voice  to  carry  through 
space,  the  sounds  are  lengthened,  and  they  must  also  re- 
ceive sufficient  force  to  drive  them  to  a  distance.  In  this 
lengthening  process,  the  sounds  are  continued  on  a  level 
plane  of  pitch,  and,  in  their  continuity,  resemble  song;  in 
the  vanish,  however,  there  is  a  rise  or  fall  in  pitch,  so  that, 
although  we  may  say  that  they  approximate  more  closely  to 
song  than  to  speech,  they  do  not  strictly  belong  to  either.* 

The  reverberating  chamber  of  the  voice,  in  the  call,  is 
the  head;  the  pitch  high;  by  opening  the  back  part  of  the 
mouth,  the  breath  must  be  driven  forcibly  upward,  and 
should  ring  through  the  nasal  passages  and  head.f  Many 
voices  that  possess  volume  and  strength  can  be  lightened 
by  the  practice  of  the  call,  and  become  equally  balanced, 
producing  that  exquisite  result,  a  perfectly  developed 
voice. 

The  call  must  not  be  confounded  with  the  shout;  the 
former  is  given  to  arrest  the  attention  of  persons  at  a  dis- 
tance; high  pitch  and  purity  of  sound  are  absolute  necessi- 
ties. The  shout,  as  used  in  the  exercise  in  vociferation,  is 
lower  in  pitch,  orotund  in  quality,  and  demands  stronger 
action  of  the  diaphragq[i.     The    combination   of  the  two 


*In  Gardner's  ^'^  Music  of  Nature,''''  it  is  shown  that  a  musical 
sound  flies  farther  than  another  kind  of  sound.  This  principle  ob- 
tains in  the  superior  audibility  of  trained  [speaking]  voices,  which 
is  always  accompanied  by  an  improved  ease  of  delivery. 

t  Persons  suffering  from  catarrh  or  enlarged  tonsils  find  difficulty 
in  producing  fine  head  tone.  I  have  known  the  clipping  of  ton- 
sils very  efficacious  in  lightening  the  voice. 


Examples  in  Natural  Quality.  147 


exer:ises  is  invaluable  in  producing  that  clear  brilliancy 
that  the  voice  receives. in  the  blending  of  ringing  vocality, 
volutne,  and  sonorousness. 

Exercises  in  the  Call. 

Ir  the  vocal  drill  for  the  call,  the  long  tonic  elements, 
as  ill  Table  I,  should  be  practiced  with  strong  action  of 
the  lespiratory  mechanism  to  introduce  force,  in  high  pitch, 
and  in  head  tone.  The  radical  of  each  element  should 
be  sustained  on  a  level  line,  then  pressure  should  be  given 
to  t  le  vanish,  which  rises  slightly  in  pitch. 


A-le, 

A-rm, 

Oo-ze 

I-ce, 

E-ve, 

Oi-1, 

O-ld, 

A-11, 

Ou-r. 

Cill  out  in  pure  tone — and  the  tone  becomes  pure  from 
the  continuity  of  sound — sentences  such  as : 


II. 


Annie,  come  here.     Mary,  I  want  you. 

Horatio. — Hillo,  ho,  ho,  my  lord ! 

Hamlet. — Hillo,  ho,  ho,  boy  !   come  bird,  come."  ^ 

The  dissylabic  words  or  names  in  Table  III  should  be 
givt  n  thus :  Ma-ry.  The  second  syllable  should  be  struck 
discretely,  a  third  above  the  first  syllable;  then,  repeating 
first  syllable  in  the  original  pitch,  strike  the  second  a  fifth 
abo  r^ ;  again  return  to  first  pitch,  striking  the  last  syllable 
an   octave  above.     This  same  exercise  may  be  given  with 


148  Murdoch's  Elocution. 

the  second  syllable  of  each  word  struck  a  discrete  third 
below  the  first  syllable,  then  a  discrete  fifth  below,  and 
finally  an  octave  below.  The  last  exercise  in  the  down- 
ward discrete  change  expresses  command,  as  in  addressing 
a  child  or  an  inferior  in  rank  or  age. 


III. 

Re-tire,  Re-turn,  Re-joice,  A-way, 

Har-ry,  Fan-nie,  Ma-ry,  Sal-lie. 


Orotund  Quality. 

125.  Under  the  inspiration  of  powerful,  bold  emotion, 
the  voice,  moving  through  the  range  of  its  compass,  seems 
to  blend  together,  with  its  vocality  of  manly  force,  some- 
thing of  the  deep  resonance  of  the  chest,  and  the  clear 
ring  of  the  head.  The  pecuHar  effect  thus  produced  has 
no  name  in  music;  but  Dr.  Rush,  recognizing  in  its  full, 
round  vocality,  that  quality  which  the  ancients  designated 
by  the  term  rotundity,  as  contrasted  with  meagerness  or 
thinness,  named  it  the  orotund,  a  term  that  has  since  been 
adopted  into  our  language,  and  classified  as  one  of  the  dis- 
tinguishing qualities  of  the  voice. 

It  means  that  energetic  breadth  and  resonant  clearness 
of  voice  which  properly  characterizes  deeply  earnest,  im- 
pressive, and  expressive  speaking,  whether  in  the  public 
hall,  the  church,  the  lecture  room,  or  the  open  air — as  dis- 
tinguished from  the  vocality  of  familiar,  unpremeditated, 
and  limited  expression  in  ordinary  conversation  in  the 
social  circle.  It  derives  its  name  from  the  Latin  phrase, 
ore  rotundo,  used  by  the  poet  Horace  in  allusion  to  the 
round  and  full  utterance,  and  flowing  eloquence  of  the 
Greeks. 


Orotund  Quality.  149 

''  Graecis  dedit  musa  ore  rotunda  loqui"- — "  To  the  Greeks 
the  muse  has  given  to  speak  with  a  rounded  utterance." 
The  orator,  the  preacher,  the  tragedian,  and  the  oratorio 
singer  aUke  require  a  great  fullness  and  rotundity  in  the 
resonance  of  the  voice,  under  certain  circumstances,  to 
enable  them  to  meet  the  demands  of  vocal  expression. 
Thi )  fullness  of  voice  is  not  mere  loudness,  nor  low  pitch, 
as  2S  sometimes  erroneously  supposed.  Rush  thus  describes 
this  quality : 


"  By  the  Orotund  Quality  is  meant  that  natural  or  improved  man- 
ner of  uttering  the  elements,  which  exhibits  them  with  a  fullness, 
clea  -ness,  strength,  smoothness,  and  a  ringing  or  musical  quality 
rare  y  heard  in  ordinary  speech ;  and  which  is  never  found  in  its 
higl  est  excellence,  except  through  long  and  careful  cultivation. 

'  By  Fullness  of  Voice  is  meant  that  grave  and  hollow  volume 
whi  ;h  approaches  hoarseness. 

'  By  Clearness,  a  freedom  from  nasal  murmur  and  aspiration. 

'  By  Strength,  a  satisfactory  loudness  or  audibility. 

'  By   Smoothness,  a    freedom    from    all   reedy  or  guttural   harsh- 


resc 


By  a  Ringing  Quality  of  Voice,  its  distinct  resemblance  to  the 
Qance  of  certain  musical  instruments." 


126.  There  is  a  mistaken  idea  that  the  roundness  and 
ful]  ness  of  voice  required  to  give  clearness  and  effect  to  the 
speaker's  utterance  in  public  address,  arises  merely  from 
the  application  of  greater  force  and  higher  pitch  to  his 
nat  jral  voice ;  that  he  must  merely  elevate  his  voice,  and 
shcut  louder  than  in  ordinary  discourse,  when  he  desires 
to  be  heard  and  understood  by  a  large  audience.  This 
mode  of  free  and  easy  talking  upon  a  loud  and  high  key, 
lirrits  the  movements  of  the  voice  to  a  scale  too  small  for 
its  most  expressive  effects,  and  deprives  it  of  all  the  deep 
ful  ness  that  is  appropriate  to  serious  thought ;  public 
spt  ech  thus  sinks  into  the  less  impressive,  homely  manner 


150  Murdochs  Elocution. 

of  ordinary  convet-sation,  or  the  familiar  style  of  humorous 
delineation. 

The  serious  and  important  subjects  of  public  interests 
and  public  duties,  and  the  still  more  serious  ones  of  a 
sacred  character,  naturally  impart  to  the  tones  of  parlia- 
mentary and  pulpit  address  the  peculiar  and  impressive 
resonance  that  seems  suitable  to  such  oratory;  but  no  true 
ear  can  be  pleased  with  a  hollow,  mechanical,  and  really 
unmeaning  depth  of  voice  that  is  sometimes  assumed  under 
such  circumstances,  in  the  attempt  to  give  solemnity  to  the 
voice.  The  full  volume  and  resonance  of  the  orotund  is 
the  symbol  of  the  dignified  parts  of  epic  poetry,  the  more 
solemn  portions  of  the  Scriptures,  and  the  passionative 
vocal  forms  of  dramatic  action. 

The  orotund  is  classified  as  a  pure  quality,  but  it  admits 
of  different  degrees  of  purity,  as  an  excess  of  emotion 
sometimes  allows  and  even  demands  a  waste  of  breath  in 
the  expressive  forms  of  utterance. 

127.  The  act  of  coughing  (see  ^54  and  58)  is  produced 
by  a  succession  of  abrupt  efforts  in  expiration.  It  is 
also  produced  by  one  continued  impulse  which  yields  up 
the  whole  of  the  breath.  The  last  form  should  be  prac- 
ticed in  acquiring  the  orotund  quality.  This  single  impulse 
of  coughing  is  an  abrupt  utterance  of  one  of  the  short 
tonics,  followed  by  a  continuation  of  the  mere  atonic 
breathing  h  till  the  expiration  is  exhausted.  Let  this  com- 
pound function,  consisting  of  the  exploded  vocality  and 
subjoined  aspiration,  be  changed  to  an  entire  vocality  by 
continuing  the  tonic  in  place  of  the  aspiration.  The  sound 
thus  produced  will,  with  proper  cultivation,  make  that  full 
and  sonorous  quality  here  denominated  the  orotund. 

This  contrived  effort  of  coughing,  when  freed  from 
abruptness,  is  like  that  voice  which  accompanies  gaping, 
for  this  has  a  hollow  and  ringing  vocality  very  different 
from  the  colloquial  utterance  of  tonic  sounds.     It  may  be 


Orotund  Quatity.  151 

shown  conspicuously  by  uttering  the  tonic  a-we,  with  the 
mouth  widely  extended. 

12  3.  Let  the  reader  make  an  expiration  on  the  interjec- 
tion hah^  in  the  voice  of  whisper,  using  that  degree  of 
force  which,  with  some  motion  of  the  chest,  seems  to  drive 
all  tlie  air  out  of  it.  Now  let  the  whisper  in  this  process 
be  c  langed  to  vocality.  This  vocality  will  have  the  hoarse 
fullness  and  sonorous  quality  of  the  orotund.  It  is  the 
forcible  exertion  of  this  kind  of  voice  which  constitutes 
vociferation;  for  vociferation  is  the  utmost  effort  of  the 
natural  voice,  as  the  scream  or  yell  is  of  the  falsetto. 

129.  As  a  further  practice,  I  quote  Dr.  Barber's  invalu- 
able rules: 


"To  acquire  the  orotund  quality  of  voice,  the  mouth  should  be 
open  id  in  the  position  of  a  yawn,  the  tongue  retracted  and  de- 
press jd;  with  the  organs  in  this  position,  the  vowel  elements  should 
be  e  cploded  with  increasing  clearness  and  strength,  and  the  pitch 
shou  d  be  varied  as  in  the  natural  use  of  the  voice.  Orotund  voices 
are  (  ften  husky  and  indistinct ;  that  is  to  say,  there  is  a  want  of 
brilliancy  in  some  of  the  sounds,  and  consequently  of  distinct 
audi  )ility  in  the  elements.  Under  these  circumstances,  many  of  the 
wore  s  spoken  on  the  stage  and  elsewhere,  under  this  modification 
of  v)ice,  are  lost  to  the  ear.  Experiments  will  show  that  if  the 
vibn  tions  are  confined  to  the  parts  described,  and  the  anterior 
part!^  of  the  mouth  (the  roof  especially)  are  made  a  mere  passage 
for  t  he  orotund,  force  and  sonorous  clearness  are  very  apt  to  be  de- 
ficient. The  voice  will  be  deep,  grave  and  dignified,  but  often 
inau  lible.  There  will  be  more  or  less  of  aspiration  and  huskiness. 
But,  if  in  the  condition  of  organs  set  forth  above,  the  vowel  ele- 
men  :s  are  uttered  as  before  described,  and  are  made,  in  the  way  to 
the  ixternal  air,  to  vibrate  against  the  center  of  the  bony  arch  of 
the  oalate,  stretching  an  extensive  and  reverberating  vaulted  cavity 
imrrediately  over  the  passage  of  sound,  the  voice  will  at  once  be 
hea;  i  clear,  full,  and  sonorous. 

'  The  properties  of  clearness  and  musical  resonance  will  be  in 
pro]  ortion  to  the  force  of  vibration  made  against  the  palatial  part  of 
the    mouth.     The   resisting    part   of    the   palate    is,    I   believe,    the 


152  Murdoch's  Elocution. 

peculiar  seat  of  the  musical  properties  of  the  voice,  by  which  I 
mean  that  clear  resonance  which  is  heard  on  well  made  musical 
instruments.  Forcible  compression  of  the  air  against  the  superior 
and  hard  parts  of  the  mouth,  as  if  it  were  to  be  driven  through 
the  center  of  the  head  in  its  passage,  increases  that  compression, 
and  contributes  to  the  result. 

"  Let  each  of  the  vowel  elements  be  expelled  from  the  most 
posterior  part  of  the  throat  with  as  much  opening  force  and  ab- 
ruptness as  possible,  and  the  long  ones  with  extended  quantity, 
with  the  condition  of  the  organs  first  described,  and  let  the  effort 
be  so  made  to  exhaust  as  much  as  possible  the  air  contained  in  the 
chest  upon  each  element.  At  first,  endeavor  to  make  the  sounds  as 
grave  and  hollow  as  possible.  This  method  of  sounding  the  ele- 
ments will  be  apt  to  produce  giddiness  and  hoarseness  at  first,  and 
must  therefore  be  prosecuted  with  care.  By  practice,  these  incon- 
veniences will  cease,  and  as  soon  as  they  do,  the  elements  should 
be  daily  sounded  for  some  time  in  the  manner  described." 

By  closely  following  the  above  directions,  the  student 
will  understand  that  the  orotund  is  the  voice  that  rever> 
berates  in  the  pharynx  and  chest,  and  rings  through  the 
nasal  passages  and  the  head. 

130.  Practice  should  bring  out  and  perfect  the  fullness^ 
clearness,  strength,  smoothness,  and  subsonorous,  ringing 
vocality  which  constitute  the  orotund.  The  method  of 
acquiring  this  quality  of  voice  is  similar  to  our  instinctive 
progress  through  the  successive  periods  of  speech.  The 
cries  of  infants  are  made  on  the  continued  stream  of  vo- 
cality. The  first  utterance  of  the  infant,  after  this  pro- 
longed cry,  is  by  an  apportionment  of  a  single  syllable  to 
a  breath.  By  a  preparatory  exercise  in  the  interrupted 
jets  of  crying  and  laughter,  the  command  over  expiration 
and  the  habit  of  perfect  speech  is  gained.  See  Rush, 
page  152. 

The  elements  should  be  practiced,  as  in  Chapter  VII, 
on  the  concrete  movement  through  all  the  intervals  and 
waves. 


Orotund^  with  Practice  Exercises.         153 


Exercise  in  Effusive  Orotund. 

131.  Open  the  syllable  hee-h^  as  in  Table  I,  with  a  strong 
expl  Dsive  aspiration  on  the  letter  h^  with  distinct  articulation 
of  e,  and  let  the  vowel  sound  gradually  diminish  till  it 
glid(S  into  the  breathing  whisper  of  the  final  h,  which 
mus  be  sustained  until  the  exhaustion  of  breath  is  com- 
pleted. Practice  first  in  the  whisper,  and  afterwards  with 
voce  lity. 

I. 


Hee-h, 

Hie-h, 

Ha-h, 

Hoe-h, 

tiay-h, 

Ha-h, 

Haw-h, 

How-h, 

Kee-h, 

Kie-h, 

Ka-h, 

Koe-h, 

Kay-h, 

Ka-h, 

Kaw-h, 

Kow-h, 

P  ie-h, 

Pie-h, 

Pa-h, 

Poe-h, 

P  ly-h, 

Pa-h, 

Paw-h, 

Pow-h. 

A  second  exercise  consists  in  prolonging  the  radical  by 
hole  ing  on  to  the  sound  of  ^-w  on  a  level  line  of  pitch, 
bef{  re  gliding  into  the  vanish  of  ^-rr  on  a  higher  pitch. 
Thi  i  should  be  practiced  on  all  the  elements  susceptible  of 
prolongation,  and  in  the  three  degrees  of  middle,  high, 
and  low  pitch.  Then  repeat  with  different  degrees  of  force 
and  loudness,  and  in  forcible  whisper  with  the  organs  in 
pos  tion  for  the  yawn. 

/  third  exercise  prefixes  the  aspirate  h  to  the  vowels, 
thu  i :  ha,  hi,  he^  ho,  h-oi,  h-ow.  Let  the  radical  pitch  be 
hig  1,  and  allow  the  voice  to  glide  down  as  low  as  it  can 
go,  exhausting  the  air  in  the  lungs  at  every  effort.  Then 
rev  irse  the  movement  by  striking  the  radical  low,  and  ris- 
ing as  high,  as  the  voice  will  permit. 

1:  requires  considerable  practice  upon  the  orotund,  in 
the  form  of  elements,  syllables,  and  words,  before  the 
stU'lent  can  read  for  any  length  of  time  with  this  acquired 
cor  imand  of  the  enlarged  position  of  the  organs,  and  with 


154  Murdoch's  Elocution, 

the  force  requisite  to  produce  the  effect  desired;  but  the 
mere  practice  of  the  orotund  cultivates  the  natural  quality 
of  voice,  giving  it  firmness  and  clearness. 

The  explosion  of  the  radical  (see  UsS),  in  connection 
with  the  orotund  produces  that  subsonorous  resonance  that 
is  the  unmistakable  evidence  of  culture  in  the  human 
voice.  All  exercises  in  the  orotund  require  to  be  varied  in 
pitch  as  in  the  natural  quality  of  voice. 

132.  Select  sentences  abounding  in  syllables  in  which 
the  long,  open  vowels  predominate;  after  giving  them  in  a 
forcible  whisper  and  a  guttural  aspiration,  deep  and  loud, 
then  vociferate  them  powerfully  in  middle,  high,  and  low 
pitch,  thus : 

**  O   thou  that  rollest  above,  round  as  the  shield  of   my   fathers !  " 

"The  moon,  cold  and  pale,  sinks  in  the  western  wave!" 

•'  Through  glades  and  glooms  the  mingled  measure  stole, 
Or  o'er  some  haunted  stream,  with  fond  delay 
(Round  a  holy  calm  diffusing, 

Love  of  peace  and  lonely  musing,)  ■ 

In  hollow  murmurs  died  away." 

*'  Roll  on,  thou  deep  and  dark  blue  ocean — roll !  " 

1 33.  Vociferation,  or  the  shout,  is  an  excellent  means' 
of  developing  all  the  breadth  and  richness  that  a  voice  is 
capable  of.  The  following  passages  from  "King  John" 
should  be  given  with  the  organs  in  the  position  for  the 
orotund,  as  described  above,  and  a  strong  action  of  the 
diaphragm;  shouting  them  out  with  all  the  force  the  student 
can  command,  without  straining  the  organs.  At  first  one 
or  two  lines  may  be  given,  and  it  is  much  better  to 
commit  them  to  memory,  as  the  speaker  is  more  natural 
when   free   from   the  book.      After  the   exercise   becomes 


Orotund,  with  Practice  Exercises.       155 

mors  familiar  to  the  student,  it  should  be  continued  for 
half  an  hour  at  a  time.  Very  few  persons  realize  how 
much  the  voice  may  be  developed  by  these  practices  in 
voc  feration,  but  as  they  are  very  forcible,  they  should  be 
used  gradually.  The  heralds  are  upon  the  walls,  the  kings 
upoa  the  plains  below,  consequently  the  tones  should  be 
forcibly  expelled,  as  if  speaking  to  persons  above  you,  as 
in  the  kings'  speeches;  and  the  citizens'  replies  should  be 
mace  as  though   the  voices  were  thrown  from  a  height. 

The  ultimate  use  of  this  practice  is  to  bring  out  the  full 
quality  of  the  voice,  and  thereby  produce  the  effect  of  the 
*oro:und  in  every  degree  of  pitch,  energized  force,  and 
sonorousness.  In  fact,  to  develop  the  natural  speaking 
sounds  into  the  breadth  and  richness  of  a  vocality  adapted 
to  ;he  highest  range  of  dramatic  expression,  and  the  sub- 
limity and  grandeur  of  sacred  poetry,  or  the  noblest  flight 
of  inspired  oratory. 

3  34.  The  exercise  of  the  laugh  in  three  degrees  of  pitch, 
on  the  syllables  huh,  ha,  ha,  ha,  is  an  admirable  practice 
for  the  orotund. 

\_Citizens  upon  the   Walls. '^ 

Citizen. — Who  is  it,  that  hath  warn'd  us  to  the  walls? 
Ki  ig  Philip. — 'Tis  France  for  England. 
King  John. —  England,  for  itself. 

You  men  of  Angiers,  and  my  loving  subjects. 
Kitg  Philip. — You  loving  men  of  Angiers,    Arthur's  subjects, 
Our  trumpet  call'd  you  to  this  gentle  parle. 
King  John. — For  our  advantage; — therefore,  hear  us  first. 
These  flags  of  France,  that  are  advanced  here 
Before  the  eye  and  prospect  of  our  town, 
Have  hither  march'd  to  your  endamagement: 
The  cannons  have  their  bowels  full  of  wrath  ; 
And  ready  mounted  are  they,  to  spit  forth 
Their  iron  indignation  'gainst  your  walls: 


156  Murdoch's  Elocution. 

All  preparation  for  a  bloody  siege 

And  merciless  proceeding,  by  these  French, 

Confronts  your  city's  eyes,  your  winking  gates  ; 

And    but  for  our  approach,   those  sleeping  stones, 

That  as  a  waist  do  girdle  you^  about, 

By  the  compulsion  of  their  ordnance 

By  this  time  from  their  fixed  beds  of  lime 

Had  been  dishabited,  and  wide  havoc  made 

For  bloody  power  to  rush  upon  your  peace. 

But,  on  the  sight  of  us,  your  lawful  king, 

Who  painfully,  with  much  expedient  march, 

Have  brought  a  countercheck  before  your  gates. 

To  save  unscratch'd  your  city's  threaten'd  cheeks, - 

Behold,  the  French,  amaz'd,  vouchsafe  a  parle ; 

And  now,  instead  of  bullets  wrapp'd  in  fire. 

To  make  a  shaking  fever  in  your  walls, 

They  shoot  but  calm  words,  folded  up  in  smoke, 

To  make  a  faithless  error  in  your  ears: 

Which  trust  accordingly,  kind  citizens. 

And  let  us  in.     Your  king,  whose  labour'd  spirits 

Forwearied  in  this  action  of  swift  speed. 

Craves  harbourage  within  your  city  walls. 


King  John. — Speak  on,  with  favor;  we  are  bent  to  hear. 
First  Citizen. — That  daughter  there  of  Spain,  the  lady  Blanch, 
Is  near  to  England :  Look  upon  the  years 
Of  Lewis  the  Dauphin,  and  that  lovely  maid  ; 
If  lusty  love  should  go  in  quest  of  beauty. 
Where  should  he  find  it  fairer  than  in  Blanch  ? 
If  zealous  love  should  go  in  search  of  virtue. 
Where  should  he  find  it  purer  than  in  Blanch  ? 
If  love  ambitious  sought  a  match  of  birth. 
Whose  veins  bound  richer  blood   than   Lady  Blanch  ? 
Such  as  she  is,  in  beauty,  virtue,  birth. 
Is  the  young  Dauphin  every  way  complete  : 
If  not  complete  of,  say,  he  is  not  she  ; 
And  she  again  wants  nothing,   to  name  want. 
If  want  it  be  not,   that  she  is  not  he ; 
He  is  the  half  part  of  a  blessed  man, 
Left  to  be  finished  by  such  a  she ; 


Orotund,  with  Practice  Exercises.       157 

And  she  a  fair  divided  excellence, 
Whose  fullness  of  perfection  lies  in  him. 

— "  King  John,'"  Shakespeare. 


EFFUSIVE   OROTUND. 

•  I  who  essayed  to  sing  in  earlier  days, 
The  Thanatopsis  and  the  hymn  to  death, 
Wake  now  the  hymn  to  Immortality. 
Yet  once  again,  O  man,  come  forth  and  view 
The  haunts  of  nature ;  walk  the  waving  fields, 
Enter  the  silent  groves,  or  pierce  again 
The  depths  of  the  untrodden  wilderness. 
And  she  will  teach  thee.     Thou  hast  learned  before 
One  lesson — and  her  hymn  of  death  hath  fallen 
With  melancholy  sweetness  on  thine  ear ; 
Yet  she  shall  teach  thee  with  a  myriad  tongue 
That  life  is  there — life  in  uncounted  forms- 
Stealing  in  silence  through  the  hidden  roots. 
In  every  branch  that  swings — in  green  leaves. 
And  waving  grain,  and  the  gay  summer  flowers 
That  gladden  the  beholder.     Listen,  now. 
And  she  shall  teach  thee  that  the  dead  have  slept 
But  to  awaken  in  more  glorious  forms, 
And  that  the  mystery  of  the  seed's  decay 
Is  but  the  promise  of  the  coming  life. 
Each  towering  oak  that  lifts  its  living  head 
To  the  broad  sunlight,   in  eternal  strength, 
Glories  to  tell  thee  how  the  acorn  died. 


So  live,  that  when  the  mighty  caravan, 
Which  halts  one  night-time  in  the  vale  of  Death, 
Shall  strike  it§  white  tents  for  the  morning  march ; 
Thou  shalt  mount  onward  to  the  Eternal  Hills, 
Thy  foot  unwearied  and  thy  strength  renewed. 
Like  the  strong  eagle  for  the  upward  flight." 

— "^    Vision  of  Immortality ^ 


1 58  Murdoch's  Elocution. 


REVERENCE. 

"Bless  the  Lord,  O  my  soul!  O  Lord,  my  God,  Thou  art  very 
great  ;  Thou  art  clothed  with  honor  and  majesty ;  who  coverest 
thyself  with  light  as  with  a  garment  ;  who  stretchest  out  the 
heavens  like  a  curtain:  who  layeth  the  beams  of  His  chambers  in 
the  waters :  who  maketh  the  clouds  His  chariot ;  who  walketh  upon 
the  wings  of  the  wind ;  who  laid  the  foundations  of  the  earth,  that 
it  should  not  be  removed  forever." 

— "  The  Book  of  Psalms:' 


ADORATION. 

Thou  from  primeval  nothingness  didst  call 

First  chaos,  then  existence ; — Lord  !    in  Thee 

Eternity  had  its  foundation  ; — all 

Sprung  forth  from  Thee  ; — of  light,  joy,  harmony, 

Sole  Origin: — all  life,  all  beauty    Thine. 

Thy  word  created  all,  and  doth  create ; 

Thy  splendor  fills  all  space  with  rays  divine ; 

Thou  art,  and  wert,  and  shalt  be!     Glorious,  Great! 

Light-giving,  life-sustaining  Potentate  ! 

Thy  chains  the  unmeasured  universe  surround ; 

Upheld  by  Thee,  by  Thee  inspired  with  breath  ! 

Thou  the  beginning  with  the  end  hast  bound. 

And  beautifully  mingled  life  and  death ! 

As  sparks  mount  upward  from  the  fiery  blaze, 

So  suns  are  born,  so  worlds  spring  forth  from  Thee ; 

And  as  the  spangles  in  the  sunny  rays 

Shine    round    the  silver  snow,   the  pageantry 

Of  heaven's  bright  army  glitters  in  Thy  praise." 

"  dod,'"  Perzhavin. 


THE    SUBLIME    IN    THE    FORM    OF    NUMEROUS    PROSE. 

**  Suddenly  the  notes  of  the  deep-laboring  organ  burst  upon  the 
ear,  falling  with  doubled  and  redoubled  intensity,  and  rolling,  as 
it  were,   huge  billows  of   sound.     How  well  do   their  volume  and 


Oi'otund^  with  Practice  Exercises.        159 

-  rand  jur  accord  with  this  mighty  building  !  With  what  pomp  do 
they  ^well  through  its  vast  vaults,  and  breathe  their  awful  harmony 
throui;h  these  caves  of  death,  and  make  the  silent  sepulchre  vocal! 
And  now  they  rise  in  triumph  and  acclamation,  heaving  higher 
and  ligher  their  accordant. notes,  and  piling  sound  on  sound. — And 
now  hey  pause,  and  the  soft  voices  of  the  choir  break  out  into 
sweet  gushes  of  melody ;  they  soar  aloft,  and  warble  along  the 
roof,  md  seem  to  play  about  these  lofty  vaults  like  the*  pure  airs  of 
heaven.  Again  the  pealing  organ  heaves  its  thrilling  thunders, 
comp  essing  air  into  music,  and  rolling  it  forth  upon  the  soul. 
What  long-drawn  cadences !  What  solemn,  sweeping  concords ! 
It  grows  more  and  more  dense  and  powerful — it  fills  the  vast  pile, 
and  ^eems  to  jar  the  very  walls — the  ear  is  stunned — the  senses  are 
overwhelmed.  And  now  it  is  winding  up  in  full  jubilee — it  is  rising 
from  :he  earth  to  heaven — the  very  soul  seems  rapt  away  and  floated 
upwa-ds  on  this  swelling  tide  of  harmony." 

''The  Sketch-book,'"     IRVING. 


SPLENDOR. 

=  But  lo !    the  dome — the  vast  and  wondrous  dome, 

To  which  Diana's  marvel  was  a  cell — 
Christ's  mighty  shrine  above  his  martyr's  tomb! 

I  have  beheld  the  Ephesian's  miracle — 
Its  columns  strew  the  wilderness,  and  dwell 

The  hyena  and  the  jackal  in  their  shade ; 
I  have  beheld  Sophia's  bright  roofs  swell 

Their  glittering  mass  i'  the  sun,  and  have  survey'd 

Its  sanctuary  the  while  the  usurping  Moslem  pray'd ; 

■  But  thou,  of  temples  old,  or  altars  new, 

Standest  alone — with  nothing  like  to  thee — 
Worthiest  of  God,  the  holy  and  the  true. 

Since  Zion's  desolation,  when  that  He 
Forsook  his  former  city,  what  could  be. 

Of  earthly  structures,  in  his  honor  piled, 
Of  a  sublimer  aspect?     Majesty, 

Power,  Glory,  Strength,  and  Beauty,  all  are  aisled 

In  the  eternal  ark  of  worship  undefiled." 

''At  St.  Peter's  at  Rome''  Byron. 


i6o  Murdoch's  Elocution. 


Expulsive  Orotund, 
poetic  fervor. 

'  Waken,  lords  and  ladies  gay, 
To  the  greenwood  haste  away; 
We  can  show  you  where  he  lies, 
Fleet  of  foot,  and  tall  of  size ; 
We  can  show  the  marks  he  made, 
When  'gainst  the  oak  his  antlers  fray'd  ; 
You  shall  see  him  brought  to  bay, 
Waken,  lords  and  ladies  gay. 

'  Louder,   louder  chant  the  lay, 
Waken,  lords  and  ladies  gay ! 
Tell  them  youth,  and  mirth,  and  glee, 
Run  a  course  as  well  as  we ; 
Time,  stern  huntsman  !   who  can  baulk, 
Staunch  as  hound,   and  fleet  as  hawk  ; 
Think  of  this,  and  rise  with  day. 
Gentle  lords  and  ladies  gay." 

— '■^Hunting  Song,''''  Scott. 


High,  Full  Orotund. 

**  Oh  !  listen,  man  ! 
A  voice  within  us  speaks  the  startling  word  : 
*  Man,   thou  shalt  never  die  ! '     Celestial  voices 
Hymn  it  round  our  souls;  according  harps. 
By  angel  fingers  touched,  when  the  mild  stars 
Of  morning  sang  together,   sound  forth  still 
The  song  of  our  great  immortality : 
Thick-clustering  orbs,  and  this  our  fair  domain, 
The  tall,  dark  mountains,  and  the  deep-toned  seas. 
Join  in  this  solemn,  universal  song." 


— Dana. 


M.f: 


Orotund^  with  Practice  Exercises.        lOi 

"  O  now,  forever, 
Farewell  the  tranquil  mind !   farewell  content ! 
Farewell  the  plumed  troops,  and  the  big  wars. 
That  make  ambition  virtue  !     O,  farewell ! 
Farewell  the  neighing  steed, 'and  the  shrill  trump, 
The  spirit-stirring  drum,  the  ear-piercing  fife. 
The  royal  banner;  and  all  quality, 
Pride,  pomp,  and  circumstance  of  glorious  war  ! 
And,  O  you  mortal  engines,  whose  rude  throats 
The  immortal  Jove's  dread  clamors  counterfeit. 
Farewell !   Othello's  occupation  's  gone !  " 

— ««  Othello,''^  Shakespeare. 


IMPASSIONED   EXPRESSION.  — PATRIOTISM. 

3h,  sweet  is  the  sound  of  the  shuttle  and  loom 
When  the  lilies  of  peace  fill  the  land  with  perfume  !- 
Then  cheerily  echoes  the  axe  from  the  hill, 
vVhile  the  bright  waters  sing  on  the  wheel  of  the  mill, 
.\nd  the  anvil  rings  out  like  a  bell  through  the  day, 
A.nd  the  wagoner's  song  cheers  his  team  on  the  way, 
rill  the  bugles  sound  here,  and  the  drums  rattle  there, 
And  the  banners  of  War  stream  afar  on  the  air. 

Then  wild  is  the  hour,  and  fearful  the  day. 
When  the  shuttle  is  dropt  for  the  sword  and  the  fray, 
When  the  woodman  is  felling  a  foe  at  each  stroke, 
And  the  miller  is  blackened  with  powder  and  smoke, 
When  the  smith  wields  the  blade  in  his  terrible  grip. 
And  the  wagoner's  rifle  cracks  true  as  his  whip : 
The  bugles  sound  here,  and  the  drums  rattle  there. 
While  the  banners  of  War  stream  afar  on  the  air." 

— Read. 


DETERMINED     PURPOSE. 

"Hear  what  4iighland  Nora  said: 
'The  Earlie's  son  I  will  not  wed. 
Should  all  the  race  of  nature  die, 
M.  E.— 14. 


1 62  Murdoch's  Elocution. 

And  none  be  left  but  he  and  I, 
For  all  the  gold,  for  all  the  gear, 
And  all  the  lands  both  far  and  near, 
That  ever  valor  lost  or  won, 
I  would  not  wed  the  Earlie's  son.' 


i(  ( 


The  swan,'  she  said,  'the  lake's  clear  breast 
May  barter  for  the  eagle's  nest  ; 
The  Awe's  fierce  stream  may  backward  turn, 
Ben  Cruichan  fall,  and  crush  Kilchurn ; 
Our  kilted  clans,  when  blood  is  high, 
Before  their  foes  may  turn  and  fly  ; 
But  I,  were  all  these  marvels  done, 
Would  never  wed  the  Earlie's  son.' " 

— ^' Nora^s   Vow,'"  ScOTT. 


ADORATION.  * 

% 


The   movement   passes   from   the   effusive   to  the   fuller 
effect  of  the  expulsive  in  the  last  stanza. 

**  Yet,  like  some  sweet  beguiling  melody, 
So  sweet,   we  know  not  we  are  listening  to  it. 
Thou,  the  meanwhile,  wast  blending  with  my  thought, 
Yea,  with  my  life,  and  life's  own  secret  joy; 
Till  the  dilating  soul,   enrapt,  transfused, 
Into  the  mighty  vision  passing — there. 
As  in  her  natural^  form,  swell'd  vast  to  heaven. 


■  Awake,  my  soul !   not  only  passive  praise 
Thou  owest !   not  alone  these  swelling  tears. 
Mute  thanks  and  secret  ecstasy !     Awake, 
Voice  of  sweet  song  !     Awake,  my  he^rt,  awake ! 
Green  vales  and  icy  cliffs,  all  join  my  hymn  !  " 

— ''Hymn  to  Mont  Blanc,""  Coleridge. 


^ 


Orotund,  with  Practice  Exercises.        163 


DECLAMATORY    FORCE. 

"  True  eloquence,  indeed,  does  not  consist  in  speech.  It  can  not  be 
brought  from  afar.  Labor  and  learning  may  toil  for  it,  but  they 
will  toil  in  vain.  Words  and  phrases  may  be  marshalled  in  every 
way,  but  they  can  not  compass  it.  It  must  exist  in  the  man,  in 
the  subject,  and  in  the  occasion.  Affected  passion,  intense  expres- 
sion, the  pomp  of  declamation,  all  may  aspire  after  it, — they  can 
not  reach  it.  It  comes,  if  it  come  at  all,  like  the  outbreaking  of  a 
foui  tain  from  the  earth,  or  the  bursting  forth  of  volcanic  fires,  with 
spontaneous,  original,  native  force.  The  graces  taught  in  the 
sch(  ols,  the  costly  ornaments  and  studied  contrivances  of  speech, 
shoi  k  and  disgust  men,  when  their  own  lives,  and  the  fate  of  their 
wiv  ;s,  their  children,  and  their  country  hang  on  the  decision  of  the 
hou\  Then  words  have  lost  their  power,  rhetoric  is  vain,  and  all 
elal  orate  oratory  contemptible.  Even  genius  itself  then  feels  re- 
buk^d  and  subdued,  as  in  the  presence  of  higher  qualities.  Then 
pati  iotism  is  eloquent ;  then  self-devotion  is  eloquent.  The  clear 
conception,  outrunning  the  deductions  of  logic,  the  high  purpose, 
the  firm  resolve,  the  dauntless  spirit,  speaking  on  the  tongue,  beam- 
ing from  the  eye,  informing  every  feature,  and  urging  the  whole 
mai  onward,  right  onward,  to  his  object, — this,  this  is  eloquence; 
or,  rather,  it  is  something  greater  and  higher  than  all  eloquences 
it  i;    action, — noble,  sublime,  God-like  action." 

— "  The  Nature  of  True  Eloquence,''''  Daniel  Webster. 


IMPASSIONED    FORCE. 

*  Yield,  madman,  yield !     Thy  horse  is  down, 
Thou  hast  nor  lance,  nor  shield ; 

Fly!   I  will  grant  thee  time.'     'This  flag 
Can  neither  fly  nor  yield  ! '  " 


— BOKER. 


'*  Speed,  Ringbolt,  to  your  leader  speed ! 
And  bid  him  know  the  stealthy  foe 
With  double  strength  comes  up  behind  : 
It  was  but  now  I  saw  him  wind 
From  out  the  valley  road  below." 


— Read. 


164  Murdoch's  Elocution. 


IMPASSIONED   FORCE. — WEEPING   UTTERANCE. 


That  I  did  love  thee,  Caesar,  O,   'tis  true: 

If  then  thy  spirit  look  upon  us  now, 

Shall  it  not  grieve  thee,  dearer  than  thy  death, 

To  see  thy  Antony  making  his  peace, 

Shaking  the  bloody  fingers  of  thy  foes. 

Most  noble !   in  the  presence  of  thy  corse  ? 

Had  I  as  many  eyes  as  thou  hast  wounds. 

Weeping  as  fast  as  they  stream  forth  thy  blood, 

It  would  become  me  better,  than  to  close 

In  terms  of  friendship  with  thine  enemies. 

Pardon  me,  Julius! — Here  wast  thou  bay'd,  brave  hart; 

Here  didst  thou  fall ;  and  here  thy  hunters  stand, 

Sign'd  in  thy  spoil,  and  crimson'd  in  thy  lethe. 

O  world !    thou  wast  the  forest  to  this  hart ; 

And  this,  indeed,  O  world!  the  heart  of  thee. — 

How  like  a  deer,  stricken  by  many  princes, 

Dost  thou  here  lie  !  " 

— '^Julius  Ccesar,''  SHAKESPEARE. 


PASSIONATE   RESOLVE. 


Never,  lago.     Like  to  the  Pontic  Sea, 

Whose  icy  current  and  compulsive  course 

Ne'er  feels  retiring  ebb,  but  keeps  due  on 

To  the  Propontic  and  the  Hellespont ; 

Even  so  my  bloody  thoughts,  with  violent  pace, 

Shall  ne'er  look  back,  ne'er  ebb  to  humble  love. 

Till  that  a  capable  and  wide  revenge 

Swallow  them  up.     Now,  by  yond'  marble  heaven. 

In  the  due  reverence  of  a  sacred  vow 

I  here  engage  my  words." 

— «*  Othello,'^  Shakespeare. 


Orotund,  with  Practice  Exercises.        165 


SHOUTING. 

**And  still  they  heard  the  battle  cry, 
Olea!   for  Castile!  " 

—  Geo.  H.  Boker. 

Advance  your  standards,  draw  your  willing  swords! 
Sound  drums  and  trumpets,  boldly  and  cheerfully  ! 
God,  and  Saint  George  !     Richmond  and  victory  !  " 

— Shakespeare. 


Explosive  Orotund, 
bold  address. 

"What!  while  our  arms  can  wield  these  blades, 
Shall  we  die  tamely?  die  alone? 
Without  one  victim  to  our  shades, 
One  Moslem  heart,  where,  buried  deep. 
The  sabre  from  its  toil  may  sleep? 
No — God  of  Iran's  burning  skies! 
Thou  scorn'st  the  inglorious  sacrifice. 
No — though  of  all  earth's  hope  bereft. 
Life,  swords,  and  vengeance  still  are  left. 
We'll  make  yon  valley's  reeking  caves 
Live  in  the  awe-struck  minds  of  men. 
Till  tyrants  shudder,  when  their  slaves 
Tell  of  the  Ghebers'  bloody  glen. 
Follow,  brave  hearts  ! — this  pile  remains 
Our  refuge  still  from  life  and  chains." 

— "  The  Gheber  to  his  Followers.''''  Moore. 


DEFIANCE. 

'  Back,  ruffians,  back  !  nor  dare  to  tread 
Too  near  the  body  of  my  dead ! 
Nor  touch  the  living  boy; — I  stand 


1 66  Murdoch's  Elocution, 

Between  him  and  your  lawless  band ! 
No  traitor  he — But  listen  !   I 
Have  cursed  your  master's  tyranny. 

'Peace,  woman,  peace!'  the  leader  cried." 

♦«  The  Polish  Boy,"  Ann  S.  Stephens. 

IMPRECATION. 


'  I  charm  thy  life 
From  the  weapons  of  strife, 
From  stone  and  from  wood, 
From  fire  and  from  flood, 
From  the  serpent's  tooth, 
And  the  beasts  of  blood ; 
From  sickness  I  charm  thee, 
And  time  shall  not  harm  thee, 
But  earth,  which  is  mine, 
Its  fruits  shall  deny  thee ; 
And  water  shall  hear  me, 
And  know  thee  and  fly  thee; 
And  the  winds  shall  not  touch  thee 
When  they  pass  by  thee ; 
And  the  dews  shall  not  wet  thee 
When  they  fall  nigh  thee : 
And  thou  shalt  seek  death 
To  release  thee  in  vain ; 
Thou  shalt  live  in  thy  pain, 
While  Kehama  shall  reign, 
With  a  fire  in  thy  heart, 
And  a  fire  in  thy  brain ; 
And  sleep  shall  obey  me, 
And  visit  thee  never, 
And  the  curse  shall  be  on  thee 
For  ever  and  ever." 

— "  Curse  of  Kehama,''  SOUTHEY. 


Orotund,  with  Practice  Exercises.        167 


SUPPLICATION. 

"'O  spare  my  child,  my  joy,  my  pride; 
O  give  me  back  my  child ! '  she  cried  : 
•  My  child !   my  child ! '  with  sobs  and  tears, 
She  shrieked  upon  his  callous  ears." 

— ''McLaifi's  Child^'"'  Mackey. 


STERN   COMMAND. 

•*  Turn,  turn,  thou  traitor  knight ! 
Thou  bold  tongue  in  a  lady's  bower, 
Thou  dastard  in  a  fight  !  " 

— '*  Count  Candespina' 5  Standard,'"  BOKER. 


**  Victory ! 
Charge,  Chester,  charge!     On,  Stanley,  on!" 

— ''^  Marmion,"  ScOTT. 


■  Slave,  do  thine  office  ! 

Strike — as  I  struck  the  foe!     Strike  as  I  would 
Have  struck  those  tyrants !     Strike  deep  as  my  curse ! 
Strike — and  but  once." 

—  '■'Marino  Falieri,"  Byron. 


TERROR    AND    CONFUSION. 

•  Death !  was  the  helmsman's  hail, 
Death  without  quarter! 
Mid-ships  with  iron  keel 
Struck  we  her  ribs  of  steel ; 
Down  her  black  hull  did  reel 
Through  the  black  water!" 

— '^  Skeleton  in  Armor,  ^^  LONGFELLOW. 


68  Murdoch' s  Elocution. 


Aspirated  Quality. 

135,  The  impure,  or  aspirated,  quality  of  voice,  arises 
from  the  escape,  perhaps  unconsciously  to  the  speaker,  of 
a  quantity  of  air,  before  it  is  molded  by  the  organs  into 
speech.  In  the  language  of  excitement,  it  is  caused  by 
the  force  of  emotion  producing  an  undue  pressure  on  the 
muscles  of  the  throat,  in  consequence  of  which  the  vocal 
ligaments  are  strained  to  so  great  a  degree  that  they  can 
not  prevent  the  escape  of  a  rush  of  unvocalized  breath 
with  every  sound,  and  hence  the  forcible  whispering  drift 
by  which  it  is  characterized. 

The  quality,  thus  caused,  indicates,  by  its  harsh  and 
discordant  effect  upon  the  ear,  the  unusual  and  intense 
excitement  of  the  speaker's  emotional  nature,  and  pro- 
duces a  corresponding  disturbance  or  agitation  of  feeling 
within  the  heart  of  the  hearer. 

Its  broadest  animal  effect  is  heard  in  the  hoarse  snarl 
of  anger  in  the  dog,  which  intimates  danger  to  the  mind 
of  the  hearer,  and  suggests  the  savage  bite  which  may 
follow. 

The  utmost  capacity  of  the  vocal  organs  seems  inade- 
quate for  the  expression  of  the  more  intense  exclamations 
of  fear,  alarm,  terror,  or  horror,  and  they  burst  forth  in  a 
hoarse  sound  that  is  half  vocality  and  half  whisper.  Mac- 
duff, on  discovering  the  murder  of  Duncan,  exclaims: 

"0  horror!  horror!  horror! 
Tongue,  nor  heart,  can  not  conceive,  nor  name  thee!" 

This  impure  vocality  is  also  heard  in  a  slight  degree  in 
the  expression  of  dread,  wonder,  astonishment,  and  feel- 
ings akin  to  these.  And  it  often  becomes  the  habitual 
voice  of  those  who  are  much  exposed  to  the  open  air,  as 
the  sailor  or  soldier. 


Aspirated  Quality.  169 

There  is  another  effect  produced  by  energy  of  utterance 
in  which  we  hear  aspiration;  /.  e.,  with  the  sound  of  the 
voice  in  joy,  or  any  exhilarating  emotion,  is  heard  a  rush 
of  b-eath,  which  is  most  expressive  in  effect;  for  example, 
"Jo»^,  joy!  shout,  shout  aloud  for  joy!"  Awe  aspirates 
the  tone,  and  in  the  forms  of  deep  grief  is  heard  this 
€sca])e  of  breath. 

Tlie  utterances  of  love,  in  its  extreme  degrees,  not  only 
become  tremulous,  but  are  also  in  a  measure  aspirated. 

136.  The  cultivation  of  the  whispering  function,  for  ap- 
plication of  force  to  the  organs  of  voice  in  the  produc- 
tion of  aspirated  quality,  in  its  gentlest  form,  is  the 
prinary  discipline  of  vocal  culture.     See  Hs?. 

B^  this  process,  the  organs  are  exercised  in  a  manner 
entiiely  opposite  to  the  practical  use  of  the  voice  in  the 
ordiiary  affairs  of  speech.  The  daily  use  of  the  voice,  in 
mos;  cases,  is  to  call  into  play  the  active  agencies  of 
voc:.lity  in  a  partial  or  imperfect  exercise  of  their  re- 
spective functions,  in  consequence  of  which  the  full, 
round,  and  energetic  sound  of  the  elements  is  seldom 
brought  out  and  perfected  for  the  purposes  of  public  ad- 
drees.  The  whispering  process  is  the  initiatory  step  in 
elerientary  vocal  culture;  by  this  aspirated  discipline,  the 
amcunt  of  muscular  effort  becomes  apparent  to  the  stu- 
den;,  from  the  fact  that  his  effort  to  produce  articulation, 
in  the  form  of  whisper,  appears  more  labored  than  in  the 
me(  hanical  exertion  necessary  to  call  forth  and  sustain 
puri  vocal  effect  in  its  most  forcible  forms.  After  the 
arti  :ulated  whisper  has  been  brought  under  the  control  of 
the  will,  to  the  full  effect  of  original  precision  and  power, 
anc  after  it  has  ceased  to  be  used  simply  as  an  agent  in 
the  inception  of  culture,  it  becomes  the  intensifier  of 
pas;ion  in  the  rushing  sweep  of  what  may  be  termed  the 
fierce  blast  of  excessive  breath,  as  it  overrides  vocality  in 
the  expression  of   the  more  impassioned  forms  of   epic  or 

M.  E.-15. 


170  Murdoch! s  Elocution. 

dramatic  description  and  delineation.     Examples  in  "■  Cori- 
olanus  "  and  ' '  Macbeth  "  ; 

**  Measureless  liar !  " 
•'I'll  fight,  till  from  my  bones  my  flesh  be  hacked." 

Thus,  it  will  be  seen  that  the  whispering  function  paves 
the  way  for  all  the  progressive  steps  of  the  student,  from 
the  lightest  forms  of  vocal  force  to  the  full  powers  of 
the  tempestuous  whirlwind  of  speech. 

Exercises  in  Aspirated  Quality. 

**0,  if  thou  teach  me  to  believe  this  sorrow, 
Teach  thou  this  sorrow  how  to  make  me  die; 
And  let  belief  and  life  encounter  so, 
As  doth  the  fury  of  two  desperate  men, 
Which,  in  the  very  meeting,  fall  and  die." 

— ''  King  John,''  Shakespeare. 


'  O  father,  I  see  a  gleaming  light ; 
O  say,  what  may  it  be  ? ' 
But  the  father  answered  never  a  word, 
A  frozen  corpse  was  he." 

— "  The  Wreck  of  the  Hesperus,'"  Longfellow, 


I 


"O  men  with  sisters  dear! 
O  men  with  mothers  and  wives ! 
It  is  not  linen  you're  wearing  out. 
But  human  creatures'  lives ! 
Stitch!  stitch!  stitch! 
In  poverty,  hunger,  and  dirt, — 
Sewing  at  once,  with  a  double  thread, 
A  shroud  as  well  as  a  shirt ! " 

— '' Song  of  the  Shirt,''  Hooi 

** Spare  me,  great  God!     Li£t  up  my  drooping  brow; 
I  am  content  to  die;   but,  oh,  not  now." 
f!l  — ''Earnest  Prayer,"  Mrs.  Nortoi 


Exercises  in  Aspirated  Quality.  171 


JOY. 

"Joy,  joy  forever!  my  task  is  done — 
The  gates  are  passed,  and  heaven  is  won ! 
Oh!   am  I  not  happy?     I  am,   I  am." 

— ''^Paradise  and  the  Peri,^^  MooRE. 

"When  Duncan  is  asleep, 
(Whereto  the  rather  shall  his  day's  hard  journey 
Soundly  invite  him,)  his  two  chamberlains 
Will  I  with  wine  and  wassel  so  convince, 
That  memory,  the  warder  of  the  brain. 
Shall  be  a  fume,  and  the  receipt  of  reason 
A  limbeck  only :  when  in  swinish  sleep 
Their  drenched  natures  lie,  as  in  a  death. 
What  cannot  you  and  I  perform  upon 
The  unguarded  Duncan?     What  not  put  upon 
His  spongy  officers;  who  shall  bear  the  guilt 
Of  our  great  quell?" 

—  '^  Macbeth^""   SHAKESPEARE. 

On  with  the  dance !   let  joy  be  unconfined  ; 

No  sleep  till  morn,  when  Youth  and  Pleasure  meet 

To  chase  the  glowing  Hours  with  flying  feeti— 

But^  hark! — that  heavy  sound  breaks  in  once  more., 

As  if  the  clouds  its  echo  would  repeat; 

And  nearer.,  clearer,  deadlier  than  before! 

Arm!   arm!   it  is! — it  is! — the  cannon's  opening  roar^ 

—''Battle  of  Waterloo,''  Byron. 


Guttural  Quality, 

337.  The  mechanism  of  the  harsh  quality  *  of  voice 
known  as  the  guttural,  or  throaty,  voice,  should  be  well 
coi  sidered  and  thoroughly  understood.  It  is  an  element 
of  speech  of  a  strongly  marked  and  expressive  nature, 
pai  taking   of    the   same   kind    though   differing    in    degree 


172  Murdoch's  Elocution. 

from  that  peculiar  effect  known  as  aspirated  vocality. 
They  both  play  a  prominent  part  in  the  offices  of  spoken 
language,  being  inseparable  from  its  expressive  functions; 
and  thus  defects  of  voice  produce  effects.  But,  on  the  con- 
trary, such  qualities  of  voice  are  repugnant  to  the  prin- 
ciples underlying  the  structure  of  song.  Therefore,  the 
guttural  and  aspirated  voices  should  be  familiar  to  the 
speaker  and  singer,  in  order  that  the  former  should  use 
them  as  effective  agents  in  his  art,  and  the  latter  learn 
how  to  avoid  them  as  damaging  elements  in  singing.  The 
one  may  be  said  to  resemble  the  growl  of  a  dog,  while  the 
other  his  snarl. 

The  guttural  is  produced  by  a  suffocation  of  the  voice, 
which  is  crushed  and  squeezed,  as  it  were,  between  the 
roots  of  the  tongue  and  the  sides  of  the  pharynx.  This 
action,  when  deep-seated,  causes  that  grating  or  rubbing 
which  is  the  marked  characteristic  of  this  quality. 

While  the  more  aspirated,  rasping,  hissing  form  of  aspir- 
ation is  produced  by  a  lighter  pressure  of  the  same  parts, 
and  near  approach  to  the  soft  palate  or  uvula.  The  effect 
of  such  violent  and  suppressed  efforts  of  muscular  action  on 
the  breath,  in.  the  language  of  an  old  writer,  *'is  to  cause 
a  swelling  discontent  in  the  throat,  and  to  suffocate  and 
strangle  the  air  in  its  outward  passage."  A  spiteful  utter- 
ance of  the  first  few  words  of  the  following  lines  will 
afford  the  means  of  exhibiting  an  aspirated  form  of  utter- 
ance :  ' '  Wretch !  you  could  enjoy  yourself  like  a  butcher's  dog 
in  the  shambles,''''  while  the  concluding  parts  of  the  sentence 
offer  the  means  of  showing  a  modified  form  of  the  guttural, 
as  thus :  ' '  While  the  slaughter  of  the  brave  went  on  around 
you,  but  you  shall  die,  base  dog.^' 

The  following  words  from  Shakespeare  will  afford  ma- 
terial  for   both   guttural   and    aspirated   qualities : 

"Swell,  bosom,  with  thy  fraught, 
For  't  is  of  aspicks'  tongues !  " 


Examples  in   Guttural  Quality.  i  "jt^ 

The  elements   should  be  practiced   in  the   form  of  the 

concrete  intervals  (see  Chapter  VII),  and  also  through  the 

diffeient  forms  of  the  wave,  with  the  organs  in  position  for 

the    guttural   quality;    then    follow   with   tables   of    words, 

such  as : 

I. 


Reve 

^ge, 

Grudge, 

Hate, 

Accursed, 

Fury, 

Have  c, 

Horror, 

Avaunt, 

Hence, 

Rancor, 

Rage,     • 

Cur, 

Slave, 

Wretch, 

Ape, 

Scou; 

ge, 

Inhuman, 

Savage, 

Cruel, 

Hateful, 

Infer 

lal, 

Gnash, 

Crush, 

Hell, 

Gall, 

Mure 

er, 

Cursed, 

Sorcerer, 

Christian, 

Agreed, 

Char 

^e, 

Harsh, 

Rotten, 

Fraught, 

Groans. 

"Which,  if 

not  victory,  is 

yet  revenge!  " 

"  Batter  their  walls  dov^^n,  raze  them  to  the  ground." 

"Mend,  and  charge  home. 
Or  by  the  fires  of  heaven,  I  '11  leave  the  foe. 
And  make  my  vicars  on  you:  look  to  't:  Come  on!" 

*^  *  Curse  on  himP  quoth  false  Sextus: 
*  Will  not  the  villain  drown  ? 
But  for  this  stay,  ere  close  of  day 
We  should  have  sacked  the  town!'" 

'■'■  Hor alius  at  the  Bridge,^''  Macaulay. 


Still  grew  my  bosom  then. 
Still  as  a  stagnant  fen ! 
Hateful  to  me  were  men. 
The  sunlight  hateful!" 

— ^'^  Skeleton  in  Armor, 


Longfellow. 


"  I  see  it  is  a  trick 
Got  up  betwixt  you  and  the  woman  there. 
I  must  be  taught  my  duty,   and  by  you ! 
You  knew  my  word  was  law,  and  yet  you  dared 
To  slight  it.     Well,— for  I  will  take  the  boy; 
But  go  you  hence,  and  never  see  me  more." 

"Z)(jra,"  Tennyson. 


174  Murdoch's  Elocution. 


Aspiration. 

"Angels  and  ministers  of  grace,  defend  us! — 
Be  thou  a  spirit  of  health,  or  goblin  damn'd, — 
Bring  with  thee  airs  from  heaven,  or  blasts  from  hell, 
Be  thy  intents  wicked,  or  charitable, 
Thou  com'st  in  such  a  questionable  shape, 
That  I  will  speak  to  thee." 

"Save  me,  and  hover  o'er  me  with  your  wings, 
You  heav'nly  guards! — what  would  your  gracious  figure?" 

— ''Hamlet,"  Shakespeare. 

"How  ill  this  taper  burns!     Ha!  who  comes  here? 
I  think  it  is  the  weakness  of  my  eyes 
That  shapes  this  monstrous  apparition. 
It  comes  upon  me: — Art   thou  any  thing? 
Art  thou  some  god,  some  angel,  or  some  devil, 
That  mak'st  my  blood  cold,  and  my  hair  to  stare? — 
Speak  to  me  what  thou  art." 

—''Julius  Ccesar,''  SHAKESPEARE. 

Lady  Macbeth. — Alack!  I  am  afraid  they  have  awak'd. 

And  'tis  not  done:— the  attempt,  and  not  the  deed, 
Confounds  us : — Hark ! — I   laid   their  daggers  ready, 
He  could  not  miss  them. — Had  he  not  resembled 
My  father  as  he  slept  I  had  done't — My  husband! 

Macbeth. — I  have  done  the  deed : — Didst   thou  not  hear  a  noise  ? 

Lady  M. — I  heard  the  owl  scream,  and  the  crickets  cry. 
Did  not  you  speak? 

Macbeth.— ^\iQn  ? 

Lady  M. — Now. 

Macbeth. — As  I  descended? 

Lady  M. — Ay. 

Macbeth.— Yi^\\i\ 

Who  lies  i'  th'  second  chamber? 

Lady  M. — Donalbain. 

Macbeth. — This  is  a  sorry  sight. 

Lady  M. — A  foolish  thought,  to  say  a  sorry  sight. 


Pectoral  Quality.  175 

Macbeth. — There's  one  did  laugh  in  his  sleep, 

And  one  cry'd,  "  murder !  "  that  they  did  wake  each  other ; 
I  stood  and  heard  them :  but  they  did  say  their  prayers, 
And  address'd  them  again  to  sleep. 

— ''Macbeth,'"  Shakespeare. 


Pectoral  Quality. 

138.  All  emotions  that  call  into  play  the  pectoral 
quality,  sink  the  voice  into  the  lowest  part  of  the  chest, 
caus  ng  it  to  become  the  ''■voce  de  petto'''  (voice  of  the 
ches  ).  Human  suffering,  whether  it  be  mental  or  phys- 
ical, causes  the  ringing  vocality  to  be  buried  in  deep  rever- 
bera  ions  of  the  thoracic  cavity,  resembling  the  groan^  as 
aspiration  resembles  the  sigh.  It  is  mingled  with  aspira- 
tion. The  aspirated  orotund  is  often  confounded  with  the 
pectoral.  This  quality  may  be  easily  recognized  in  King 
Johr's  voice  in  his  reply  to  Prince  Henry: 


Prime  Henry.— Hovf  fares  your  majesty? 

K'ng  John. — Poison'd, — ill  fare; — dead,  forsook,  cast  off: 
And  none  of  you  will  bid  the  winter  come. 
To  thrust  his  icy  fingers  in  my  maw ; 
Nor  let  my  kingdom's  rivers  take  their  course 
Through  my  burn'd  bosom  ;    nor  entreat  the  north 
To  make  his  bleak  winds  kiss  my  parched  lips. 

— *■'  King  John,'".  Shakespeare. 


Ro  neo. — Courage,  man ;  the  hurt  can  not  be  much. 
Mercitio. — No,  'tis  not  so  deep  as  a  well,  nor  so  wide  as  a  church 
door;  but  'tis  enough,  'twill  serve:  ask  for  me  to- 
morrow, and  you  shall  find  me  a  grave  man.  I  am 
peppered,  I  warrant,  for  this  world; — a  plague  o'  both 
your  houses! 

— "-Romeo  and  Juliet  "  Shakespeare. 


76  Murdoch! s  Elocution. 

Shylock. — I  pray  you,  give  me  leave  to  go  from  hence ; 
I  am  not  well. 

''Merchant  of  Venice,'^  SHAKESPEARE. 


PHYSICAL   EXHAUSTION. 

Adam. — Dear  master,  I  can  go  no  further:  O,  I  die  for  food!  Here 
lie  I  down,  and  measure  out  my  grave.  Farewell,  kind 
master. 

*' As    You  Like  It,'''   SHAKESPEARE. 


SICKNESS. 

"And  wherefore  should  these  good  news  make  me  sick? 
I  should  rejoice  now  at  this  happy  news; 
And  now  my  sight  fails,  and  my  brain  is  giddy: — 

0  me!  come  near  me,  now  I  am  much  ill. 

1  pray  you,   take  me  up,  and  bear  me  hence  - 
Into  some  other  chamber;  softly,  pray. 

Let  there  be  no  noise  made,  my  gentle  friends; 
Unless  some  dull  and  favorable  hand 
Will  whisper  music  to  my  weary  spirit." 

''Henry  /F,"  Part  II,  Shakespeare. 


Falsetto  Quality. 

Of  this  quality,  after  much  investigation,  we  find  little 
that  is  at  all  satisfactory.  All  systems  differ  with  regard 
to  the  causes  by  which  it  is  produced.  We  can  only 
repeat,  in  Rush's  language:  "The  falsetto  is  a  peculiar 
voice,  in  the  higher  degrees  of  pitch,  beginning  where  the 
natural  voice  breaks,  or  outruns  its  compass." 

The  falsetto  would  seem  to  be  produced  by  the  air  being 
thrown   immediately,   from  the  glottis,    up   into   the   head. 


Falsetto  Quality.  177 

and  ihere  reverberating;  however  this  may  be,  the  student 
of  elocution  requires  some  practice  on  the  elements,  words, 
and  sentences  in  this  quality  to  enable  him  to  give  effect 
to  thi  child's  voice,  the  old  man  or  woman's,  and  also  to 
produce  a  weird  effect  in  the  voice,  by  adding  some  hollow 
deptl.  to  it,  in  opening  the  organs  wide,  and  yet  directing 
the  s;ream  of  air  to  the  head.  The  entire  compass  of  the 
voice  should  be  under  the  student's  control.  The  falsetto 
is,  however,  much  overdone  in  many  cases,  and  requires 
judg  nent  and  taste  to  regulate  it. 


Chapter  XV. 

Practice  on  the  Concrete  as  affected  by   the   Various    ^orms  of 
Stress  and  the  Tremor. 

139.  It  was  stated  in  Chapter  IV  that  under  certain 
modifications  of  emotion,  or  intensity  in  the  state  of  mind, 
the  syllabic  concrete  and  wave  lose  their  plain,  equable 
form,  and  become  affected  by  a  particular  concentration 
of  force  upon  their  different  parts,  or  throughout  their 
whole  extent. 

The  next  step  in  the  practice  of  the  elementary  exercise 
of  the  voice  should  be  to  obtain  a  facility  in  the  execution 
of  the  concrete  under  the  modification  of  the  various 
stresses.  These  have  been  classified  as :  Radical,  Final, 
Median,  Thorough,  Compound,  and  the  Tremor  or  Inte^ 
mittent  Stress. 

In  no  respect  has  Dr.  Rush's  system  been  so  much  mis, 
understood  as  in  relation  to  radical  stress,  this  having  often 
been  interpreted  and  taught  as  a  function  exclusively  of 
violent  force. 

Forcible  explosion  is  appropriate  only  to  emotional  or 
impassioned  speech;  the  lightest  form  of  radical  stress 
serves  simply  to  give  a  clear  and  penetrating  character  to 
the  syllables  of  discourse.  It  would  have  been  easier  to 
have  impressed  this  difference  upon  the  mind,  could  a 
term  have  been  invented  by  which  this  delicate  radical  (or 
root  of  vocality)  could  have  stood  apart  from  stress. 
Abruptness  was  the  generic  term  given  it  among  the 
different  modes  of  the  voice,  "because  its  characteristic 
explosion  is  peculiar,  and  quite  distinct  from  force,  with 
(178) 


Practice  on  the   Conci'ete. 


179 


whic'i,  from  its  admitting  degrees  of  intensity,  it  might 
seem  to  be  identical." 

The  constant  use  of  the  forcible  radical  renders  speech 
sharj,  and  will  cause  the  voice  to  become  hard  and  me- 
tallic The  short,  sharp  radical  is  heard  only  in  the  burst 
of  a  iger,  the  yell  of  rage,  and  such  emotions  as  express 
themselves  in  abrupt,  imperative  commands.  Although 
heard  in  authority,  that  is  more  dignified  and  more  delib- 
erate, it  is  combined  with  greater  volume  of  sound,  which 
mellcws  and  softens  it.  Joy,  hope,  and  exultation  are 
rapid  in  movement,  and  naturally  require  this  form  of 
stress. 

Tl  e  lighter  degrees  of  radical  stress  being,  then,  most 
callei  into  play,  they  should  be  the  most  exercised,  with 
organs  freely  opened,  and  held  flexibly.  Radical  stress  is 
one  Df  the  constituent  elements  that  imparts  brilliancy  to 
animated  and  gay  styles  of  composition. 

Tlte  student  has  already  had  elemental  studies  in  radical 
stres  J ;  he  should  next  practice  it  in  the  form  of  the  con- 
crete intervals  (Chapter  VII)  on  the  following  tables  of 
mutcble,  immutable,  and  indefinite  syllables. 

R.idical  stress  is  best  exhibited  in  the  short  vowels, 
when  it  displays  emphatic  impressiveness  on  short  quantity; 
but  ;t  is  also  employed  in  the  mutable  and  indefinite  sylla- 
bles, yet  it  always  contracts  them  into  shorter  quantity. 

Table  of  Immutable  Syllables. 


Wicl  ed, 

Afflict, 

Lot, 

Dock, 

Bet, 

Mop, 

Back, 

Trap, 

Not, 

Duck, 

Hit, 

Fop, 

Had  , 

Mock, 

Got, 

Luck, 

Hot, 

Cat, 

Atta  k, 

Buck, 

Pot, 

Beck, 

Cob, 

Cub, 

Loci  , 

Rock, 

Punish, 

Push, 

Bob, 

Map, 

Cab, 

Upper, 

Tatler, 

Pat, 

But, 

Cutter, 

Batt.  r, 

Cup, 

Sup, 

Patter, 

Butter, 

Rut, 

Bittt  r, 

Mutter, 

Top, 

Tip, 

Pack, 

Sipping, 

Fick  e, 

Picket, 

Pick, 

Lick, 

Fitter, 

Cutting, 

Flap 

Dot, 

Not, 

Dump, 

Lump, 

Rap. 

8o 


MurdocJis  Elocution. 


Table  of  Mutable  Syllables. 


What, 

Ape, 

Grasp, 

Grape, 

Bliss, 

Truth, 

Push, 

Crape, 

Base, 

Trump, 

Not, 

Blight, 

Mate, 

Garb, 

Curse, 

Craft, 

Earth, 

Gab, 

Knock, 

Rub, 

March, 

Parch, 

Brisk, 

North, 

Rook, 

Smart, 

Big, 

Part, 

Brag, 

Odd, 

Cask, 

Bad, 

Bid, 

Wretch, 

Drab, 

Carp, 

Crack, 

Rob, 

Mark, 

Dash, 

Got, 

Dwarf, 

Cape, 

Scrape, 

Birch, 

Barb, 

Wake, 

Sharp, 

Frisk, 

Starch, 

Struck, 

Slab, 

Dark, 

Dart, 

Grunt, 

Gap, 


Grope, 

Gait, 

Get, 

Fate, 

Drape, 

Tract, 

Dot, 

Bold, 

Yet, 

Add, 

Beset, 

Arch, 

Black, 

Forth, 

Stript, 

Nook, 

Beat, 

Hod, 

Blood, 

Hate, 

Dread, 

Cart, 

Tub, 

Cork, 

Rig, 

State, 

Mad, 

Wharf. 

Table  of  Indefinite  Syllables. 


Stars, 

Where, 

Home, 

Care, 

Flows, 

Brow, 

Strive, 

Flowed, 

Bare, 

Prose, 

King, 

Dare, 

Aim, 

Shorn, 

Lull, 

Aid, 

Morn, 

Twilled, 

Warm, 

Barn, 

Done, 

Low, 

Furl, 

Wild, 

Knell, 

Born, 

Thee, 

Times, 

Rare, 

Earl, 

Firm, 

Pure, 

Moved, 

Wings, 

Stern, 

Prime, 

Loam, 

Serve, 

Girl, 

Lime, 

Prone, 

Move, 

Arm, 

Tore. 

Lone, 

Roam, 

Bone, 

Join, 

Brave, 

Harm, 

Balm, 

Calm, 

Boil, 

Growl, 

Howl, 

Hair, 

Reel, 

Crane, 

Now, 

Tune, 

Lure, 

Joy, 

Ream, 

Cream, 

Rave, 

Ray, 

Crown, 

Nine, 

Grown, 

Moan, 

Rule, 

Spoil, 

Full, 

Vow, 

Foil, 

Toy, 

Groin, 

Roll, 

Stare, 

Call, 

Bull, 

Row, 

Bow, 

More. 

Radical  stress  will  be  exemplified  in  the  sound  of  the 
element  «,  in  all,  in  the  imperative  command,  Attend,  all! 
repeated  six  times  with  increasing  force  and  the  different 
intervals. 


Examples  in  Unimpassioned  Radical.     i8i 


Examples  in  Unimpassioned  Radical. 

'♦Within  its  shade  of  elm  and  oak 

The  church  of  Berkley  Manor  stood; 
There  Sunday  found  the  rural  folk, 
And  some  esteemed  of  gentle  blood." 

— Buchanan  Read. 

*'It  was  the  time  when  lilies  blow, 
And  clouds  are  highest  up  in  air; 
Lord  Ronald  brought  a  lily  white  doe. 
To  give  his  cousin  Lady  Clare." 

— Tennyson. 

''Shr  knows  but  very  little,  and  in  little  are  we  one; 
Th2  beauty  rare,  that  more   than  hid   that  great  defect  is  gone. 
M}    parvenu  relations  now  deride  my  homely  wife, 
And  pity  me  that  I  am  tied  to  such  a  clod,  for  life." 

— D.  R.  Locke. 

'The  angel  with  great  joy  received  his  guests, 
And  gave  them  presents  of  embroidered  vests, 
And  velvet  mantles  with  rich    ermine    lined, 
And  rings  and  jewels  of  the  rarest   kind. 
Then  he  departed  with  them  o'er  the  sea 
Into  the  lovely  land  of  Italy, 
Whose  loveliness  was  more  resplendent  made 
By  the  mere  passing  of  that  cavalcade, 
With  plumes,  and  cloaks,  and  housings,  and  the  stir 
Of  jeweled  bridle  and  of  golden  spur." 

— Longfellow. 

The  clear  radical  movement  not  only  imparts  clearness 
and  brilliancy  to  language  that  is  animated  in  its  character, 
but  it  gives  a  penetrating  power  to  the  voice  that  carries 
it  tirough  space,   and   enables  the  speaker   to   put   every 


i82  Murdochs  Elocution, 

syllabic  utterance  upon  the  ear  of  the  auditor  without  any 
effort  upon  the  part  of  the  latter.  This  constitutes  the 
great  charm  of  delivery. 


Clear  Radical  Movement — Natural  Quality. 

'*  And  the  frost,  too,  has  a  melodious  ministry.  You  will  hear 
its  crystals  shoot  in  the  dead  of  a  clear  night,  as  if  the  moonbeams 
were  splintering  like  arrows  in  the  ground;  and  you  listen  to  it 
the  more  earnestly,  that  it  is  the  going  on  of  one  of  the  most 
cunning  and  beautiful  of  nature's  deep  mysteries.  I  know  nothing 
so  wonderful  as  the  shooting  of  a  crystal.  God  has  hidden  its 
principle  as  yet  from  the  inquisitive  eye  of  the  philosopher,  and 
we  must  be  content  to  gaze  on  its  exquisite  beauty,  and  listen  in 
mute  wonder  to  the  noise  of  its  invisible  workmanship.  It  is  too 
fine  a  knowledge  for  us.  We  shall  comprehend  it  when  we  know 
how  the  morning  stars  sang  together." 

— N.  P.  Willis. 


Radical  Stress. — Impassioned  Radical. 
ANGER  AND  SCORN. — Explosive  Orotund.     Rapid  Movement. 


'  Ho !  cravens,  do  ye  fear  him  ? 
Slaves,  traitors!   have  ye  flown? 
Ho,   cowards!   have  ye  left  me 
To  meet  him  here  alone!" 


— Albert  G.  Gree 


COMMAND. — Explosive  Orotund.     Rapid  Movement. 

"Hark!   the  insulting  foeman's  cry — 
They  are  coming !   quick,   my  falchion  ! 
Let  me  front  them  ere  I  die." 

— W.  H.  Lytle. 


1 


Final  Stress.  183 

For  Christian  shame,  put  by  this  barbarous  brawl." 

"  Othello,^''  Shakespeare. 

"Chieftains,   forego! 
I  hold  the  first  who  strikes,  my  foe. 
Madmen,  forbear  your  frantic  jar! 
What!  is  the  Douglas  fallen  so  far, 
His  daughter's  hand  is  deemed  the  spoil 
Of  such  dishonorable  broil?'' 

— ''^  Douglas y''  Scott. 


Down,  down,'  cried  Mar,  *  your  lances  down ! 
Bear  back  both  friend  and  foe ! ' 


"'My  banner-man,  advance! 
'  I  see,'  he  cried,  '  their  column  shake, 
Now,  gallants!   for  your  ladies'  sake, 
Upon  them  with  the  lance!'" 

— Scott. 


Final  Stress. 

140.  Let  the  following  question  be  uttered  with  indig- 
nai  t  surprise,  and  the  voice  will  rapidly  traverse  the  em- 
ph;  tic  /,  and  end  with  a  sudden  jerk,  or  forcible  fullness 
at  ;he  termination :  Did  he  dare  to  say  I  did  it  ?  This  will 
illustrate  the  character  of  the  final  stress. 

'Che  form  of  this  stress  is  precisely  the  reverse  of  the 
rac  ical,  the  weight  or  fullness  of  the  voice  being  placed  at 
tht  close  of  the  syllabic  impulse,  where  it  leaves  off  as 
suddenly  or  abruptly  as  the  radical  begins.  Final  stress 
rec  uires  more  time  for  its  execution  than  the  radical,  as 
th(  voice  must  traverse  some  perceptible  extent  of  inter- 
va  before  performing  this  reversed  abruptness.  It  can 
»o;,  therefore,  be  executed  on  short  tonics  or  immutable 
sy  lables.      "Final  stress  may  be  heard  in   the  speech  of 


184  Murdoch's  Elocution. 

the  natives  of  Ireland,  many  of  whom  apply  it  to  simple 
rise  and  fall,  or  wave,  on  all  the  principal  words  of  a 
sentence."  It  produces  that  Irish  jerk,  effective  only  in 
the  brogue. 

The  character  of  final  stress  is  best  illustrated  by  the 
sound  produced  in  the  natural  sneeze  or  hiccough,  thus: 
yux.  It  has  also  been  well  likened  to  the  sound  which 
seems  to  be  forced  from  the  organs  of  the  workman  when 
he  brings  down  his  sledge  hammer  with  a  heavy  blow, — a 
sort  of  forcible  "grunt,"  beginning  lightly,  progressing 
rapidly,  and  ending  with  a  bang  or  sudden  accumulation 
of  force  at  the  close. 

This  stress  is  practicable  on  all  of  the  intervals  of  in- 
tonation, rising  or  falling,  and  on  all  the  waves,  in  the 
latter  always  quickening  their  movements,  and  impressing 
the  final  constituents.  It  may  be  given  (and  is  so  em- 
ployed in  its  various  uses),  in  the  expression  of  emotion 
and  passion,  with  every  degree  of  enforcement,  from  a  mod- 
erate energy  which  simply  defines  the  close  of  a  syllable 
with  the  weight  of  a  strong,  firm  pressure,  to  the  vivid 
force  which  marks  it  as  with  a  sudden  and  powerful  blow. 

It  is  most  effectively  exhibited  on  those  mutable  and  in- 
definite syllables  ending  with  an  abrupt  atonic  or  subtonic 
sound,  the  latter  contributing  to  the  abrupt  ending  of  the 
sound  which  characterizes  this  stress.  Thus  let  the  syllable 
hak  be  begun  smoothly,  pass  lightly  into  the  vocality,  and 
ended  with  force,  and  there  will  be  a  sudden  termination 
of  the  sound  as  it  is  thrown,  as  it  were,  against  the  atonic 
k^  producing  this  peculiar  suddenness  of  effect  at  the  close 
of  a  syllable.  The  same  effect,  however,  may  be  produced 
by  properly  disciplined  organs  on  any  combination  of  ele- 
ments not  immutable,  or  any  single  element  not  atonic,  as 
in  the  instance  first  given  of  the  stress  on  /. 

141.  Great  care  must  be  observed  in  the  exaggerations 
of  this  function  for  forcible  elementary  practice,  especially 


Examples  in  Final  Stress.  185 

on  the  diphthongal  or  long  tonics,  not  to  allow  the  voice  to 
perfDrm  a  double  impulse,  as  it  were,  giving  to  the  stressed 
part  of  the  sound  the  effect  of  the  beginning  of  a  new 
concrete. 

The  sound  should  begin  with  a  clear,  but  light  opening, 
traverse  the  concrete  with  a  swift  and  unbroken  directness, 
and  fall,  at  the  close,  like  a  heavy  weight. 

Axi  intelligent  exercise  of  this  stress  upon  the  elements 
and  syllables  will  insure  a  realization  of  its  generic  charac- 
ter as  an  impatient,  angry,  and  determined  enforcement  of 
the  interrogative;  and  also  of  the  positive  character  of 
the  rising  or  falling  concrete  intervals,  in  the  expression  of 
determined  purpose,  earnest  resolve,  stern  rebuke,  con- 
ten  pt,  astonishment,  sullenness,  and  stubborn  passion ;  it 
is  lieard,  also,  in  peevishness  and  impatience,  and  some- 
times in  grief. 

On  the  intervals  and  waves  of  the  semitone,  final  stress 
produces  the  effect  of  sobbing.  The  preceding  tables  of 
mutable  and  indefinite  syllables,  and  their  extension  on 
the  concrete  should  be  carefully  practiced,  with  every 
de;,Tee  of  force,  until  the  organs  become  accustomed  to 
its  ready  execution,  and  the  ear  familiar  with  its  effect. 

."inal  stress  will  express  impatience  and  displeasure  on 
th(  element  and  word  in  the  following:  '■^  I  said  all,  not 
o)h   or  two.''^ 


Examples  for  Practice  on  Final  Stress, 
stern  rebuke. 

'^  '  In  faith ^  cried  Francis,  ^rightly  done!^  and  he  rose  from  where 
he  sat ; 
'  No  love,''  quoth  he,    ^ biit  vanity,  sets  l^e  a  task  like  that.''  " 

Leigh  Hunt. 

M.  E.-I6. 


1 86  Murdoch's  Elocution. 

Yield,  madman,  yield !  thy  horse  is  down, 

Thou  hast  nor  lance  nor  shield ; 

Fly! — I  will  grant  thee  time.'     ''This  flag 

Can  neither  fly  nor  yield  P  ^^ 

— **  Count  Candespind's  Standard,''''  Boker. 


"  Lord  cardinal, 
To  you  I  speak." 

*♦  Your  pleasure,  madam  ?  " 


"The  queen  is  obstinate. 
Stubborn  to  justice,  apt  to  accuse  it,  and 
Disdainful  to  be  tried  by  it ;    "'tis  not  well. 
She's  going  away."  '^- 

!>' 

^  I  will  not  tarry;  no,  nor  ever  more,  '% 

Upon  this  business  my  appearance  make 
In  any  of  their  courts." 

— Extracts  from  "-Henry  VIII,''''  Shakespeare. 


I 


IMPATIENT    EXCLAMATION. 

Ye  gods,  ye  gods !    Must  I  endure  all  this  ? " 

—''Julius   Ccesar,"  ShakespEAR 


I 


"O  that  I  had  him, 
With  six  Aufidiuses,  or  more,  his  tribe, 
To  use  my  lawful  sword  !  " 

— "  Coriolanus,''''  SHAKESPEARE 


DETERMINED    PURPOSE. 

"On  such  occasions,  I  will  place  myself  on  the  extreme  bound- 
ary of  my  right,  and  bid  defiance  to  the  arm  that  would  push  me 
from  it." 

— Webste 


i 


I 


Median  Stress.  187 


Hear  me  yet^  good  Shylock." 


•  /'//  have  my  bond ;  speak  not  against  my  bond : 
/  have  sworn  an  oath  that  I  will  have  my  bond^ 


'  I  pray  thee,  hear  me  speaky 
'  ril  have  my  bond;  I  will  not  hear  thee  speak : 
Pll  have  my  bond;  and  therefore  speak  no  more." 


'•^Follow  not: 
I'll  have  no  speaking:  I  will  have  my  bond." 

— Extracts  from  '■'■Merchant  of  Venice,''''  SHAKESPEARE. 


Median  Stress. 

142.  Median  stress  is  an  enforcement  of  the  middle  por- 
tion of  the  concrete.  The  sound  beginning  with  a  moder- 
ate degree  of  force,  increases  gradually  in  volume  and 
streigth  to  a  swelling  fullness,  and  then  diminishes  again 
gradually,  and  terminates  with  an  equable  vanish.  Thus, 
in  the  sentence,  "/  am  the  resurrection  and  the  life,"  the 
dignified  grandeur  of  the  utterance  will  produce  this  move- 
ment on  the  syllable  /. 

The  character  of  the  median  stress  may  be  illustrated  by 
the  gradual  increase  and  diminution  of  force  and  fullness 
of  sound  in  the  yawn.  This  form  of  force  can  only  be 
emi)loyed  on  syllables  of  indefinite  quantity,  as  its  peculiar 
corstruction  implies  extension  of  time;  and  as  the  latter 
gererally  continues  the  voice  into  the  wave,  the  median 
str(  ss  or  swell  is  most  frequently  and  effectively  employed 
on  this  form  of  intonation.  In  this  case,  the  culmination 
of  brce  and  fullness  is  applied  at  the  juncture  of  the  two 
cor  stituents. 


1 88  Murdoch! s  Elocution. 

Take  the  word  Hail!  as  an  adoring  salutation,  and 
this  form  of  stress  may  be  exhibited  on  the  wave  of  the 
second,  third,  or  fifth,  according  to  the  degree  of  directive 
energy  in  the  feeling,  swelling  to  its  greatest  fullness  at  th-e 
point  of  flexure  or  bending  of  the  wave. 

The  median  stress  may  also  be  applied  to  the  rising  and 
falling  intervals  of  the  fifth  and  octave,  but  it  is  not  prac- 
ticable on  those  of  lesser  extent,  except  when  they  are 
duplicated  in  the  form  of  the  wave. 

Median  stress  we  will  find  to  be  that  form  of  expressive 
force  used  to  distinguish  syllables  in  language  of  a  highly 
dignified,  elevated,  or  exalted  character,  and  is  employed 
in  all  degrees  of  enforcement,  from  the  most  delicate  full- 
ness of  sound,  to  a  firm,   strong  swelling  energy. 

An  excellent  exercise  to  begin  with,  in  seeking  to  acquire 
a  command  over  the  median  stress,  is  to  practice  the  sim- 
ple function  of  yawning  on  the  syllable  ah^  giving  as  much 
vocality  as  possible  to  the  sound,  and  extending  and  swells 
ing  to  its  fullest  extent. 

The  stress  should  next  be  practiced  on  the  long  tonic 
elements  and  indefinite  syllables,  in  conjunction  with  the 
less  extended  waves,  at  first,  and  in  its  gentlest  form  of 
swell; — then  with  the  wider  waves  and  intervals  in  all  it? 
gradations  of  enforcement. 

In  each  case,  let  the  sound  be  clearly  opened  with  that 
delicate  organic  action  which  constitutes  the  lightest  form 
of  the  radical  stress,  (otherwise  it  will  lack  clear  quality 
and  definite  character,)  and  gradually  and  firmly  swelled 
to  a  full  volume,  and  then  as  gradually  diminished.  The 
swelling  sound  must  never  be  continued  for  an  instant  on 
a  level  line  of  pitch,  or  it  will  lose  its  character  as  a 
speech  note,  and  become  a  singing  drawl, — which  is 
neither  speech  nor  song.  This  faulty  effect  is  often  the 
result  of  attempting  to  draw  the  sounds  out  to  too  great  an 
extent    before    the    organs    have    become    habituated    by 


Examples  of  Median  Stress.  189 

n  ^ 

gradual   practice    to   extend   it   equably   and   firmly  in  the 
gracual  swell. 

The  Median  is  heard  in  the  element  of  the  word  all,  in 
reverence  and  adoration;  e.  g.,  "/om  all  je  creatures  in 
his  traise.'' 


Examples  of  Median  Stress. 

"The  meanest  flower  that  blows,  can  give 
Thoughts  that  do  often  lie  too  deep  for  tears." 

— Wordsworth. 

•  These  are  Thy  glorious  works,  Parent  of  Good, 
Almighty !     Thine  this  universal  frame 
Thus  wondrous  fair, — Thyself  how  wondrous  then! 
Unspeakable!  who  sitt'st  above  these  heavens, 
To  us  invisible,  or  dimly  seen 
'Midst  these  thy  lowest  works!" 

— *'  Morning  Hymn  in  Paradise,^''   Milton. 

"Thou  glorious  mirror!  where  the  Almighty's  form 
Glasses  itself  in  tempests." 


**  And  I  have  lov'd  thee.  Ocean !  and  my  joy 
Of  youthful  sports  was  on  thy  breast  to  be 
Borne,  like  thy  bubbles,  onward ; — from  a  boy 
I  wanton'd  with  thy  breakers, — they  to  me 
Were  a  delight." 

— Byron. 

And  this  is  in  the  night: — Most  glorious  night! 

Thou  wert  not  sent  for  slumber!  let  me  be 
A  sharer  in  thy  fierce  and  far  delight, — 

A  portion  of  the  tempest  and  of  thee! 

How  the  lit  lake  shines,— a  phosphoric  sea. 
And  the  big  rain  comes  dancing  to  the  earth !  " 

— Byron. 


IQO  Murdoch's  Elocution. 

i 

"What  a  piece  of  work  is  a  man!  How  noble  in  reason!  how 
infinite  in  faculties !  in  form  and  moving,  how  express  and  admir- 
able! In  action,  how  like  an  angel!  in  apprehension,  how  like  a 
god ! " 

— '■'■Hamlet,''''  Shakespeare. 

"The  voice  of  the  Lord  is  upon  the  waters:  the  God  of  glory 
thundereth ;  the  Lord  is  upon  many  waters.  The  voice  of  the 
Lord  is  powerful ;  the  voice  of  the  Lord  is  full  of  majesty.  The 
voice  of  the  Lord  breaketh  the  cedars;  yea,  the  Lord  breaketh 
the  cedars  of  Lebanon." 

—  The  Bible. 

REGRET. 

"My  heart  laments  that  virtue  cannot  live, 
Out  of  the  teeth  of  emulation." 

— ''Julius   Ccrsar,'^  SHAKESPEARE. 


Thorough  Stress  in  Expression. 

143.  Thorough  stress  carries  the  force  and  fullness  of 
the  radical  throughout  the  entire  concrete  or  wave,  giving 
it  a  heavy  or  blunt  effect.  Let  the  sentence,  "I  care  not 
for  your  threats l^^  be  uttered  in  a  rudely  defiant  manner, 
and  the  emphatic  /  will  illustrate  this  form  of  force. 

Thorough  stress  has  no  light  degrees,  being  always  a 
sign  of  boldness  and  energy.  On  the  short  tonics,  or  on 
immutable  syllables,  this  form  of  stress  is  scarcely  to  be 
distinguished  from  the  radical,  but  on  elements  or  syllables 
of  quantity  its  peculiarly  blunt  effect  is  most  noticeable. 

This  stress  requires  practice  on  the  tables  of  mutable 
and  indefinite  syllables  through  the  intervals  and  waves. 
Thorough  stress  is  heard  in  the  following  language  of  de- 
fiance on  the  word  all,  again  employed  to  express  another 
emotion:  "  Come  one,  come  all!"  The  same  syllable  may 
be  given  five  or  six  times,  with  different  degrees  of  force 
and  interval. 


Exercises  in   Thorough  Stress.  191 


Exercises  in  Thorough  Stress. 

She's  cursed,'  said  the  skipper;  'speak  her  fair: 

I  'm  scary  always  to  see  her  shake 
Her  wicked  head,  with  its  wild  gray  hair, 

And  nose  like  a  hawk,  and  eyes  like  a  snake.'" 

— Whittier. 

"'What  on  airth  is  he  up  to,  hey?' 
'  Don'o — ther  's  suthin  or  other  to  pay, 
Ur  he  wouldn't  a'  stayed  to  hum  to-day.' 
Says  Burke,   'His  toothache's  all 'n  his  eye! 
He  never 'd  miss  a  Fo'th-o-July, 
Ef  he  hedn't  got  some  machine  to  try.'" 

—J.  T.  Trowbridge. 

"We  drink  the  downfall 
Of  an  accursed  land !  " 


The  night  is  growing  darker, — 

Ere  one  more  day  is  flown, 
Bregenz,  our  foeman's  stronghold, 

Bregenz  shall  be  our  own  !  " 

— Adelaide  Procter. 


Compound  Stress. 

144.  Compound  stress  combines  the  forcible  forms  of 
the  radical  and  final  stresses  on  one  syllabic  concrete 
or  vave.  Requiring,  therefore,  both  time  and  space  for 
its  execution,  it  is  employed  only  on  indefinite  syllables, 
thro  ngh  the  wider  intervals  and  waves,  powerfully  marking 
their  extremes.  It  is  the  most  intensified  form  of  distinc- 
tior  that  can  be  applied  to  the  concrete,  and  marks  the 
mo;t  powerful  forms  of  emphasis;  it  can  only  be  produced 
by    the    speaker    placing    himself    in    sympathy    with    the 


92  Murdoch's  Elocution. 


emotion  of  which  it  is  the  exponent;  it  is  generally  accom- 
panied by  aspiration.  Intense  surprise,  contempt,  and 
withering  scorn  naturally  demand  this  stress. 

Practice  upon  table  of  indefinite  syllables  in  the  concrete 
intervals  and  waves.  Expression  again  employs  the  sylla- 
ble all  to  apply  this  stress  to  the  emphatic  words  of  the 
astonished  interrogative:  ''What  all,  did  they  all  failV 
Repeat  the  element,  and  then  the  word  all,  five  or  six 
times,  with  steadily  increasing  force,  and  the  student's  ear 
can  not  fail  to  tutor  him  in  the  future  application  of  the 
stress. 

Compound  stress  is  exemplified  in  the  violent  and  ex- 
cited interrogation  of  Brutus  to  Cassius : 

"Must  /give  way  and  room  to  your  rash  choler? 
Must  /be  frightened  when  a  madman  stares?" 

Again,  in  Cassius'  words:  "/  an  itching  palmV 
^'  Chastisement r^  It  is  heard  in  withering  scorn,  as  in 
Lady  Constance's  speech  to  Austria: 

**  Thou  wear  a  lion's  hide !   doff  it  for  shame, 
And  hang  a  calf's  skin  on  those  recreant  limbs." 


The  Loud  Concrete. 

145.  The  loud  concrete  is  simply  the  ordinary  radical 
and  vanish  magnified  throughout  by  force.  It  is  the  nat- 
ural element  of  expression  in  all  stirring,  rousing,  ener- 
gized utterance.  Exultation,  confidence,  courage,  and 
exhortation,  unaccompanied  by  anger,  receive  from  this 
form  of  stress,  on  the  rising  and  falling  wider  intervals  and 
waves,  a  lively,  piercing  energy  that  gives  great  brilliancy 
to  each.  It  is  a  question  whether  it  may  not  be  called  the 
full  radical  stress  that  is  not,  in  the  slightest  degree,  tinct- 
ured with  any  malignant  passion  or  emotion. 


Exercises  in  Loud  Concrete.  193 


Exercises  in  Loud  Concrete. 

"Just  our  rapture  to  enhance, 
Let  the  English  rake  the  bay, 
Gnash  their  teeth  and  glare  askance 
As  they  cannonade  away  ! 
'Neath  rampired  Solidor  pleasant  riding  on  the  Ranee." 

— '■^  Hei-ve  Riel,^^   BROWNING. 

"The  sanguine  sunrise,   with  his  meteor  eyes, 
And  his  burning  plumes  outspread. 
Leaps  on  the  back  of  my  sailing  rack. 
When  the  morning  star  shines  dead ; 
As,  on  the  jag  of  a  mountain  crag, 
Which  an  earthquake  rocks  and  swings, 
An  eagle,  alit,  one  moment  may  sit 
In  the  light  of  its  golden  wings." 

— "  The  Cloud,''  SHELLEY. 

**  Flag  of  the  free  heart's  hope  and  home ! 
By  angel  hands  to  valor  given ; 
Thy  stars  have  lit  the  welkin  dome, 

And  all  thy  hues  were  born  in  heaven." 

— "  American  Flag^''   DRAKE. 

The  waves  were  white,  and  red  the  morn. 
In  the  noisy  hour  when  I  was  born ; 
And  the  whale  it  whistled,   the  porpoise  rolled. 
And  the  dolphins  bared  their  backs  of  gold ; 
And  never  was  heard  such  an  outcry  wild 
As  welcomed  to  life  the  ocean  child  !  " 

— "  The  Sea"  Barry  Cornwall. 


Tremor  or  Intermittent  Stress. 

:  46.  A  skillful  execution  of  the  concrete  or  syllabic 
mc  cement,  as  affected  by  the  tremor,  should  be  the 
student's  next  acquisition  in  vocal  training. 

M.  E— 17. 


194  Murdochs  Elocution. 


Let  the  words,  ^^  O  my  souls  Joy!''  be  uttered  with  joy- 
ous exultation,  and  the  voice  will  have  the  effect  of  tremb- 
ling on  the  elements  o  and  oi.  This  effect  is  what  has 
been  described  as  the  tremor  of  speech.  (See  If  27.)  It 
is  in  reality  a  form  of  intonation,  but  it  is  also  sometimes 
termed  the  intermittent  stress,  owing  to  the  fact  that  the 
abrupt  function  of  the  voice  is  the  principle  underlying  the 
tremulous  intonation;  that  is  to  say,  the  tremor  is  effected 
by  the  same  organic  act  as  that  producing  the  radical 
stress,  repeated  in  rapid  succession.  These  brief  impulses 
are  in  reality  minute  and  rapid  concretes,  and  are  called 
tittles,  and  the  minute  discrete  interval  between  them  a 
tittelar  skip.  Owing  to  the  rapidity  of  the  vocal  transit 
through  the  tittles,  and  their  close  succession  in  the  tremor, 
J:he  latter  is  scarcely  appreciable  to  the  ear  as  a  matter  of 
measurable  interval,  either  in  the  concrete  form  or  discrete 
succession  of  its  tittles. 

The  creation  of  the  successive  abrupt  impulses  should  be 
the  chief  object  of  the  present  exercise,  to  obtain  an 
artistic  execution  of  this  function.  This  may  be  done  by 
first  imitating  the  natural  function  of  laughter  and  crying, 
on  any  of  the  tonic  elements,  or  merely  the  expression  of 
mirthfulness  or  deep  grief,  in  which  the  voice  is  said  to 
shake  or  tremble.  The  tittelar  impulses  may  be  produced 
on  a  level  line  of  pitch,  or  they  may  be  carried  in  rapid 
succession  through  all  the  intervals  of  the  scale,  rising  and 
falling,  and  in  connection  with  the  several  stresses.  It  will 
require  much  practice  to  obtain  this  result.  The  objects  to 
be  considered  are: 

(i)  To  make  the  separate   tittles  as  distinct  as  possible. 

(2)  To  make  them  follow  each  other  with  ease  and  rapidity. 

(3)  To  accent  each  well. 

(4)  To  make  them  as  numerous  as  possible  during  the 
proper  pronunciation  of  the  element  as  syllables,  on  which 
they  are  placed. 


J 


Tremor  or  Interfuittent  Stress.  195 


i^fter  practicing  them  on  the  elements,  they  should  be 
givtn  on  the  words  of  the  table  of  indefinite  syllables,  tak- 
ing care  that  each  element  sustains  a  due  portion  of  the 
tremulous  movement.  The  tremor  serves  to  intensify  all 
the  other  vocal  elements  with  which  it  is  combined. 

1 1  practicing  the  tremor  in  laughing  exercises,  the  voice 
passes  through  a  tone  in  its  tittelar  movement,  while  in  the 
wet  ping  utterance  the  minute  tittles  are  semitonic.  The 
trei.iulous  movement  is  the  natural  expression  of  old  age 
tha;  is  attended  with  physical  weakness  and  exhaustion, 
sickness,   fatigue,  grief,  joy,  and  love. 

The  semitonic  tremor  is  heard  iti  the  following,  where 
we  apply  this  movement  to  the  word  «//,  although  the 
other  words,  or  accented  syllables,  of  the  entire  quotation, 
wo  aid  be  given  with  the  tremor  and  semitone: 

"Oh!  I  have  lost  you  all! 
Parents,  and  home,  and  friends." 

!n  the  application  of  all  the  forms  of  stress  to  the  word 
all  the  student  is  to  recognize  the  coloring  of  expression 
gi^en  to  words  by  this  most  expressive  agency. 

Examples  of  Semitonic  Tremor. 

"O,  I  could  weep 
My  spirit  from  mine  eyes !  " 

— '■'■Julius  Casar,''  Shakespeare. 

*''When  my  father  comes  hame  frae  the  pleugh,'  she  said, 
'Oh!  please  then  waken  me.'" 

— "  Relief  of  Lucknmv,''  ROBT.   LoWELL. 

"O  come  in  life,  oi  come  in  death! 
O  lostl  my  love,   Elizabeth!" 

— **  High   Tide,''  Jean  Ingelow. 


96  Murdoch's  Elocution. 


Angel,'  said  he  sadly,   'I  am  old; 

Earthly  hope  no  longer  hath  a  morrow ; 
Yet,  why  I  sit  here  thou  shalt  be  told.' 

Then  his  eye  betrayed  a  pearl  of  sorrow ;  ^ 
Down  it  rolled ! 

*  Angel,'  said  he  sadly,   'I  am  old." 


Old;'  Ralph  Hoyt. 


SUBDUED    GRIEF. — Expulsive    Owtund.     Semitonic    Tremor. 
Subdued  Force. 


*'  How  far,  how  very  far  it  seemed, 
To  where  that  starry  taper  gleamed, 
Placed  by  her  grandchild  on  the  sill 
Of  the  cottage  window  on  the  hill ! 
Many  a  parent  heart  before, 
Laden  till  it  could  bear  no  more. 
Has  seen  a  heavenward  light  that  smiled. 
And  knew  it  placed  there  by  a  child ; — 
A  long-gone  child,  whose  anxious  face 
Gazed  toward  them  down  the  deeps  of  space. 
Longing  for  the  loved  to  come 
To  the  quiet  of  that  home." 

' '  Brushwood, "  Read. 


The  expression  of  love  in  its  more  passionate  forms  be- 
comes slightly  semitonic  and  tremulous,  thus : 

"I  said  to  the  rose,   'The  brief  night  goes 
In  babble,  and  revel,   and  wine, — 
O  young  lord-lover,  what  sighs  are  those. 

For  one  that  will  never  be  thine ! 
But  mine,  but  mine,'  so  I  sware  to  the  rose, 
'  For  ever  and  ever  mine ! '  " 

'' Maud,'^  Tennyson. 


Examples  of  the   Tremor.  197 

"Sweet,  good  night! 
This  bud  of  love,  by  summer's  ripening  breath. 
May  prove  a  beauteous  flower  when  next  we  meet : 
Good. night!  good  night! — as  sweet  repose -and  rest 
Come  to  thy  heart,  as  that  within  my  breast!" 

— ^^  Romeo  and  Juliet,'"  Shakespeare. 


Examples  of  the  Tremor. 

JOY — Hysterical    Tremor.      Orotund    Quality.     High    Fitch. 

'**God  bless  the  bonny  Hielanders; 

We're  saved!  we're  saved!'  she' cried." 

'*  Relief  of  Lucknow"  RoBT.  Lowell. 

"  Love  framed  with  Mirth  a  gay  fantastic  round  ,- 
(Loose  were  her  tresses  seen,  her  zone  unbound;) 
And  he,  amidst  his  frolic  play, — 
As  if  he  would  the  charming  air  repay, — 
Shook  thousand  odors  from  his  dewy  wings." 

— ^^Ode  to  the  Passions,''^  COLLINS. 


Come  rest  on  my  bosom,  if  there  ye  can  sleep ; 
I  canna  speak  to  ye:  I  only  can  weep." 


You  've  crossed  the  wild  river,  you  've  risked  all  for  mc, 
And  I  '11  part  frae  ye  never,   dear  Charlie  Machree !  " 

— "  Charlie  Machree,''^  Wm.  J.  HoPPlN. 


Chapter  XVI. 

General  Outline  in  Theory  of  the  Natural  Relationship  betiveen 
the  Mind  and  the   Voice. 

147.  The  different  states  of  the  mind  are  variously  desig- 
nated as  ideas,  perceptions,  thoughts,  sentiments,  emotions, 
feelings,  and  passions.  All  of  these  mental  conditions 
designated  by  the  terms  just  enumerated  may  be  referred 
to  the  three  generic  divisions :  thought,  a  plain  and  quiet 
state  of  mind;  passion,  a  state  of  strong  excitement;  and 
sentiment,  or  interthought,  an  earnest  state  between  these 
extremes. 

The  state  of  simple  thought,  or,  as  it  will  be  called,  the 
thoughtive  state  of  mind,  is  a  ''simple  perception  of  things, 
their  action  or  other  relationship,  with  no  reference  to  the 
exciting  interests  of  human  life."  Language  indicative  of 
this  passionless  or  quiet  state,  is  commonly  designated  as 
narrative,  declarative,  descriptive,  unimpassioned,  plain 
matter  of  fact,  all  of  which  will  be  comprehended  in  the 
present  treatment  under  the  terms  thoughtive  or  plain  nar- 
rative language. 

148.  The  second,  or  intermediate  generic  mental  condi- 
tion, ''has  that  relation  to  human  life  which  excites  mod- 
erately self-interesting  reflections  in  the  mind,"  and  em- 
braces dignity,  pathos,  awe,  serious  admiration,  reverence, 
and  other  states  congenial  in  character  and  degree  with 
these.  This  condition  of  the  mind,  with  its  corresponding 
vocal  expression,  is  called  the  interthoughtive,  admirative, 
or    reverentive.      The    terms    in    common    use,    signifying 

(108) 


Relation  between  Mind  and  Voice.       199 

states  of  mind  synonymous  with  these,  are  the  dignified, 
the  gravely  pathetic,  the  respectful,  the  supplicative,  and 
the  penitential. 

iz.g.  The  third  condition  "has  a  more  immediate  and 
vivid  reference  or  relation  to  human  life,  its  reflective 
interests  and  actions  throughout  the  impressive  forms,  de- 
grees, and  varieties  of  passion."  This  state  of  mind,  and 
the  language  which  denotes  it,  are  called  the  passionative. 

F^r  terms  in  common  use,  synonymous  with  or  repre- 
senting varieties  of  the  passionative  division,  we  have  the 
impissioned,  expressive,  the  earnestly  interrogative,  ex- 
clariatory,  derisive,  contemptuous,  and  others  indicating 
exc  tement  or  vehemence,  together  with  *  the  numerous 
terns  for  the  passions,  see  Aaron  Hill,  in  the  author's 
'^  Ilea  for  Spoken  Language.''  Corresponding  to  the  dis- 
tinction between  these  states  of  the  mind,  are  the  vocal 
mei-ns  for  declaring  them;  or,  as  we  shall  employ  the 
tern,  their  vocal  signs. 

150.  Although  each  one  of  the  five  properties  of  the 
voioe,  known  as  quality,  force,  time,  pitch,  and  abruptness, 
has  been  described  and  considered  separately,  through  the 
necessities  of  an  analytic  elementary  study,  they  are  neces- 
sar  ly  co-existent  with  each  other  in  some  form,  variety,  or 
decree  of  each,  in  every  individual  utterance  of  the  voice. 
Th  is,  in  their  sum  of  eff"ects,  as  variously  combined,  they 
prcduce  what  is  called  the  vocal  sign  of  the  state  of  mind 
denoted  by  that  utterance. 

'The  vocal  signs  of  simple  thought,  or  the  thoughtive 
sigis,  are,  in  pitch,  the  interval  of  a  second,  and  the 
sh(Tter  wave  of  this  interval;  in  force,  a  moderate  degree; 
in  quality,  the  natural;  in  time  quantities,  neither  very 
short  nor  much  extended;  in  abruptness,  the  light  degree 
ret  uisite  for  clear  articulation. 

\11  of  the  other  intervals  of  pitch  and  waves,  in  con- 
trast  with    the    plain   character   of   the   second,    are   more 


200  Murdoch's  Elocution. 

striking,  the  octave  being  the  most  so.  All  degrees  of 
force  greater  or  less  than  the  moderate  become  more  im- 
pressive; all  qualities  except  the  natural  are  more  ex- 
pressive; while  very  short  or  very  long  quantities  are  more 
impressive  than  the  moderate. 

The  more  vivid  constituents  of  the  voice  color  language 
with  sentiment,  passion,  or  expression;  the  more  striking 
they  are,  the  higher  the  coloring  or  the  more  strongly  ex- 
pressive of  an  excited  mental  condition. 

Expression  in  elocution  is,  then,  the  coloring  of  language 
by  the  various  vocal  signs  of  sentiment  or  passion.  As  an 
illustration:  let  the  word  no,  as  a  reply  to  a  question,  be 
given  as  a  downward  concrete  second,  in  natural  quality, 
short  quantity,  and  moderate  force,  and  it  will  indicate  an 
unexcited  mental  condition.  Repeat  the  question  in  such 
a  manner  as  to  create  in  the  mind  of  the  person  addressed 
a  feeling  of  indignant  rebuke,  and  the  no  of  his  reply  will 
be  given  with  a  wider  downward  interval,  fuller  quality, 
increased  force,  and  more  deliberate  quantity,  denoting  a 
variety  of  the  interthoughtive  state  of  mind. 

151.  Each  state  of  mind  may  be  continued,  and  with  its 
vocal  sign  or  signs  extended  into  the  current  of  discourse ; 
thus  will  be  formed  a  current  vocal  style  or  manner,  either 
thoughtive,  interthoughtive  or  passionative. 

Drift  is  the  term  employed  to  designate  this  continuation 
of  any  one  state  and  its  corresponding  sign  or  signs, 
through  the  current  of  discourse.  Thus,  there  may  be  a 
thoughtive  drift,  and  an  expressive  drift,  either  of  senti- 
ment or  passion. 

It  is  a  difficult  matter  to  draw  a  strict  line  of  separation 
between  the  nfental  states  of  thought  and  passion,  and 
between  the  signs  which  generally  represent  them.  These 
must,  from  the  peculiar  constitution  of  the  human  mind, 
and  its  ever-varying  conditions,  from  perfect  tranquillity  to 
every  degree  of  excitement,   closely  approach  each  other, 


Relation  between  Mind  and  Voice.       201 

and  constantly  intermingle.  Though  the  mental  and  vocal 
distinctions  between  each  are  so  slight,  at  what  may  be  called 
thei  •  points  of  convergence,  as  to  be  scarcely  distinguishable, 
at  their  wider  points  of  divergence,  the  difference  is  marked 
and  unmistakable. 

It  must  not  be  supposed  that  the  several  drifts  of 
thojght,  interthought,  and  passion,  with  their  respective 
signs,  are  used  separately,  and  kept  distinct  from  each 
othir  in  such  a  way  that  the  ear  might  become  familiar 
wit  1  the  peculiar  vocal  character  of  each. 

AVere  this  the  case,  the  vocal  characteristics  of  the 
several  drifts  would  be  so  distinctly  marked  as  to  render 
the  task  of  analysis  a  matter  of  comparative  ease.  On  the 
cortrary,  **the  course  of  a  drift  is  seldom  strictly  continu- 
ous with  itself,  its  continuity  being  occasionally  and  vari- 
ously interrupted  by  other  drifts,  or  by  other  individual 
staes  of  mind  with  their  vocal  signs." 

In  the  latter  case,  however,  the  general  style  or  drift  of 
an}  portion  of  discourse  will  take  its  vocal  character  or 
coloring,  so  to  speak,  from  the  character  of  the  constitu- 
ents of  either  of  the  three  divisions  which  predominate^ 
eitiier  as  to  frequency  of  recurrence  or  impressiveness  of 
effect. 

Ve  may  have  a  thoughtive,  interthoughtive,  or  passion- 
ati  ^e  drift  extending  through  a  clause,  a  member,  or  a 
whole  sentence;  but  seldom  is  a  half  page,  and  never  a 
ch.ipter  to  be  found  exclusively  in  one  style. 

:52.  The  thoughtive  drift  or  current  of  language  is  the 
m(  st  frequent  form,  variously  interrupted  by  individual 
signs  of  the  other  two  states,  for  occasional  purposes  of 
imoressive  emphasis,  or  by  drifts  of  those  signs. 

Many  of  the  expressive  vocal  elements  may  be  so  fre- 
quently employed  as  to  produce  a  current  style  or  drift  of 
uterance,  but  a  few  are  of  so  striking  or  vivid  a  character, 
ani  mark   such   exceptional   and   intensified  states   of   the 


202  Murdoch s  Elocution. 

mind  that  they  are  seldom  of  more  than  occasional  occur- 
rence, or  if  continued,  never  longer  than  to  form  what 
may  be  called  a  partial  drift,  a  continuance  simply  to  the 
extent  of  a  brief  phrase  or  clause. 

153.  The  vocal  signs  in  language  are  accompanied  by 
words  or  verbal  signs  of  the  thought,  sentiment,  or  passion 
to  be  uttered,  excepting  in  the  inarticulate  utterances  of 
extreme  emotion  or  passion  expressed  in  screams,  groans, 
sighs,   etc.* 

The  same  verbal  signs  may,  however,  indicate  a  variety 
of  mental  conditions,  according  to  the  vocal  signs  by 
which  they  are  accompanied.  Of  this  we  have  had  an 
example  in  the  case  of  the  word  no. 

In  the  study  of  written  language  for  the  purposes  of  art 
in  elocution,  it  is  of  course  from  the  verbal  forms  and  the 
varied  relationships  and  connections  of  ideas  they  repre- 
sent, that  the  states  of  the  mind  indicated  by  such  lan- 
guage are  to  be  determined,  and  thence  the  vocal  sign  or 
signs  appropriate  to  accompany  its  verbal  constituents,  in- 
dividual or  consecutive,  through  its  currents  and  inter- 
currents of  thought  and  passion.  This  implies,  therefore, 
as  a  primary  requisite  on  the  part  of  the  student,  a 
thorough  analysis  of  the  language  to  be  read,  comprehend- 
ing not  only  a  minute  examination  of  sentences  as  com- 
posed of  their  constituent  clauses,  phrases,  and  words  in 
order  to  develop  their  relations  in  sense,  but  also  a  close 
study  of  the  context,  to  discover  the  sentiment  or  passion 
contained  in  the  language,   and  their  modifications. 

154.  In  all  language,  some  words  will  be  distinguished 
above  or  from  others  with  which  they  are  associated,  by 
virtue  of  the  peculiar  or  relative  importance  they  bear  to 
the   thought   or   passion   to   be   denoted.     This  distinction 


See  author's  •'  Plea  for  Spoken  Language. 


I 


Relation  between  Mind  and  Voice.       203 

constitutes  emphasis,  and  it  is  always  effected  by  some 
forn-,  degree  or  variety  of  pitch,  force,  time,  etc.;  in  other 
words,  by  some  particular  vocal  sign  of  thought,  senti- 
ment or  passion. 

Tie  analysis  here  employed,  which  distinguishes  the 
momentary  state  of  mind  and  its  individual  sign,  is  the 
onl)  basis  for  acquiring  an  accurate  knowledge  of  the 
vocal  means  producing  different  emphasis.  When  the 
student  has  mastered  all  of  the  constituents  of  thought  and 
exp  ession  through  the  detailed  study  and  practice  of  each 
in  its  order,  skillful  and  artistic  reading  will  be  attained 
by  allowing  the  discriminating  and  practical  knowledge 
thus  acquired  to  regulate  and  direct  the  natural  impulses 
to  jeel  the  subject  and  then  express  it. 

I  here  introduce  Rush's  analysis  of  the  ""Hamlet'' 
spet.'ch: 

'  I  will  illustrate  this  subject  of  mental  and  vocal  drift  by  a 
fam  liar  example.  Let  the  reader  give  an  important  direction  to  a 
servint.  He  will  perceive  in  himself,  an  earnest  and  moderately 
imperative  state  of  mind,  the  drift  or  current  of  which  is  not  to 
be  )roken,  except  by  explanation,  or  by  a  passing  reflection.  The 
voc  J  drift  of  this  Direction  is  diatonic,  with  the  downward  third 
or  iifth,  on  the  accented  syllables,  according  to  the  earnestness  of 
the  case.  Under  this  vocal  sign  the  direction  will  accord  with 
the  state  of  mind.  We  will  apply  this  principle  of  the  according 
mei.tal  and  vocal  drift,  to  the  scene  of  Hamlet  with  the  Player. 

' '  Hamlet's  part  has  three  purposes :  Direction ;  and  as  Shakes- 
peo  re  could  not  or  never  would  write  without  them,  Comment  and 
Re  lection.  The  first  is  here  distinguished  by  italics;  the  Comment 
by  curved,  and  the  Reflection  by  angular  brackets.  The  purpose 
of  :he  inclusive  interlinear  braces  will  be  stated  presently. 

'  Hamlet. — Speak  the  speech,  I  pray  you,  as  I  pronounced  it  to  you, 
trij  pingly  on  the  tongue :  (but  if  you  mouth  it,  as  many  of  our 
plr  yrers  do,  I  had  as  lief  the  town-crier  spoke  my  lines.)  JVor  do 
noi  saw  the  air  too  much  -with  your  hand,  thus ;  but  use  all  gently : 
foi  in  the  very  torrent,  tei7ipest,  and  as  I  may  say,  whirlwind  of  your 
pa  sion,  you   mmt  acquire   and  beget  a   temperance   that   may  give   it 


204  Murdoch! s  Elocution. 


smoothness.     [O,    it    offends   me   to    the   soul,    to   hear   a   robustious 


periwig-pated  fellow  tear  a  passion  to  tatters,  to  very  rags,  to  split 
the  ears  of  the  groundlings;  who  for  the  most  part,  are  capable  of 
n6thing  but  inexplicable  dumb  shows  and  noise ;  I  would  have  such 

a  fellow  whipped,  for  o'erdoing  Termagant ;  it  out-herods  Herod :] 
Pray  you  avoid  it.  Be  not  too  tame  neither,  but  let  your  own  discretion 
be  your  tutor :  suit  the  action  to  the  word,  the  word  to  the  action ;  with 
this  special  observance,  that  you  overstep  not  the  modesty  of  Nature ;  (for 
any  thing  so  overdone  is  from  the  piirpose  of   playing,  whose  end, 

both  at  the  first,  and  now,  was  and  is,  to  hold  as  it  were,  the 
mirror  up  to  Nature ;  to  show  virtue  her  own  feature,  scorn  her  own 

image,  and  the  very  age  and  body  of  the  time,  his  form  and  pres- 
sure.) No^v  this  overdone^  or  come  tardy  off,  though  it  make  the  un- 
skillful laugh,  cannot  but  make  the  judicious  grieve ;  the  censure  of 
ivhich  one,  must  in  your  allowance,  d'erweigh  a  whole  theatre  of  others. 
[O,  there  be  players,  that  I  have  seen  play,  and  heard  others  praise, 
and  that  highly,  not  to  speak  it  profanely,  that  neither  having  the 
accent  of  Christians,  nor  the  gait  of  Christian,  pagan,  nor  man, 
have  so  strutted  and  bellowed,  that  I  have  thought  some  of  Nature's 
'journeymen  had  made  them,  and  not  made  them  well,  they  imi- 
tated humanity  so  abominably.] 

Player. — I  hope  we  have  reformed  that  indifferently  with  us. 

Hamlet. — O,  reform  it  altogether,  and  let  those  that  play  your 
clowns,   speak  no  more  than  is  set  down  for   thetn :    (for   there  be  of 

them,  that  will  themselves  laugh,  to  set  on  some  quantity  of  barren 
spectators  to  laugh  too;  though  in  the  meantime,  some  necessary 
question  of  the  play  be  then  to  be  considered;  that's  villainous; 
and  shows  a  most  pitiful  ambition  in  the  fool  that  uses  it.)  Go 
make  you  ready. 

"The  mental  and  the  vocal  Drift  for  the  Directive  part  of  this 
Advice,  was  described  under  the  preceding  example  of  a  strict 
order  to  a  servant.  The  Comment  being  something  explanatory,  or 
illustrative,  or  questionable,  and  employing  a  different  state  of 
mind,  is  to  be  uttered  with  a  less  positive  intonation.  The  Re- 
flective portion,  embracing  the  mental  condition  of  disapprobation, 
or  derision,  or  contempt,  should  receive  the  more  forcible  expression 
of  earnestness,  and  sneer.     And  both  the  Comment  and  Reflection 


Relation  between  Mind  and  Voice.       205 


are  to  be  given  with  a  variety  of  upward  and  downward  intervals, 
and  \;aves,  as  the  knowledge  and  the  taste  of  the  speaker,  grounded 
on  tl  e  philosophy  of  the  voice,   may  direct. 

"To  illustrate  some  of  our  principles  of  stress  and  intonation, 
I  ha/e  merely  marked  with  the  common  accentual  symbol  what 
appear  to  be  emphatic  words;  but  have  not  time  to  assign  causes  for 
the  choice.  At  six  places,  I  have  included  under  interlinear  braces 
certa.n  words,  to  be  carried  beyond  their  appointed  and  still  pre- 
served pauses,  on  the  phrase  of  the  monotone.  The  purpose  of 
this  naonotone  is  to  unite  upon  the  ear,  the  act  with  its  cause  or 
purp  Dse ;  as  in  the  first  case,  the  tearing  to  rags,  is  to  split  the  ears 
of  tl  e  groundlings;  in  the  second,  the  cause  of  the  whipping,  is 
the  o'erdoing  of  Termagant;  in  the  third,  fourth,  and  fifth,  the  pur- 
pose of  playing,  is  severally  to  hold  the  minvr  up  to  nature ;  to  show 
virtue  her  own  feature,  scorn  her  own  image,  and  the  body  of  the 
time,  his  form  and  pressure.  In  the  sixth,  the  idle  laugh  is,  to  set  on 
idle  spectators  to  laugh  too.  In  this  reading,  it  is  the  monotone 
brid  jing  as  it  were  the  pauses,  with  its  level  reach  of  voice,  that 
assis:s  materially  in  connecting  the  cause  and  purpose  with  their 
obje:t.  There  is  an  example  of  the  emphatic  tie  on  the  words 
pla)  ers,  play,  praise,  that,  and  have,  with  a  moderate  flight,  and 
abatement  on  intermediate  clauses.  The  design  of  this  grouping  is 
to  connect,  by  vocal  means,  five  words  separated  in  the  construc- 
tion ;  thereby  to  bring  to  the  foreground  of  perception  the  player, 
his  labit  of  bombastic  action,  and  his  unmerited  praise.  If  in  this 
instance,  who  were  substituted  for  that,  the  chain  of  the  emphatic 
tie  ivould  be  stronger  and  brighter,  from  the  greater  stress  practi- 
cable on  its  tonic  element  and  indefinite  quantity.  The  tie  is  also 
to  1  e  applied  io  Jtidicious,  and  luhich  one;  to  overstep,  and  so;  to  end 
and  hold  and  mirror.  I  would  set  a  feeble  cadence  on  groundlings ; 
and  a  rising  third  on  the  laugh,  that  follows  unskillful ;  a  falling 
thir  i  on  grieve;  and  a  falling  fifth  on  tvell,   after  made  them. 

'  On  the  subject  of  mental  drift,  I  would  ask  the  reader  if  he 
doe ;  not  know  when  he  is  angry,  or  pleased,  or  sorrowful,  aston- 
ishc  d,  or  inquisitive?  For  these  are  current  states  of  mental  drift, 
wh  ch,  if  bad  example  has  not  confused  or  destroyed  the  original 
con  lection  between  the  mind  and  the  voice,  will  enable  him  to 
spe  ik  properly,  under  a  general  rule  of  Educated  Nature,  that 
Sh;  kespeare  here  alludes  to,  but  did  not  turn  aside  to  explain." 


Chapter  XVII. 
The  Diatonic  Melody  of  Speech. 

155.  Although  it  is  in  the  nature  of  narrative  or 
thoughtive  utterance  that  the  concrete  and  discrete  syllabic 
progression  of  the  voice,  through  pitch,  shall  both  be  con- 
fined to  the  inexpressive  interval  of  the  tone  or  second, 
still  this  simplest  form  of  utterance  is  not  necessarily  mo- 
notonous or  tiresome  in  its  effect.  It  may,  on  the  con- 
trary, be  constantly  varied  by  changes  in  the  radical  pitch 
of  the  consecutive  syllables.  This  variation  constitutes 
Melody. 

The  proper  diatonic  melody  of  speech  may,  then,  be 
defined  as  a  succession  of  concrete  impulses  on  the  inter- 
val of  a  second,  so  varied  in  radical  pitch  as  to  produce 
an  agreeable  impression  upon  the  ear. 

To  realize  that  such  variation  exists  in  the  natural 
voice,  and  is  not  an  invented  or  mechanical  form  of  utter- 
ance, make  the  following  simple  experiment :  slowly  repeat 
the  sentence,  A  boy  caught  a  large  fish  in  a  small  stream, 
with  a  rising  concrete  second  on  each  syllable,  and  with 
the  radical  of  each  concrete  on  the  same  degree  of  the 
scale. 

The  sentence  thus  read  will  produce  that  disagreeable 
and  unnatural  monotony  of  effect  so  often  heard  in  young 
readers.  Repeat  the  same  sentence  in  a  natural  and  collo- 
quial manner,  and  the  ear  will  readily  perceive  that  there 
are  changes  in  the  radical  successions,  produced  by  that 
instinctive  necessity  of  the  voice  for  some  variation  in  its 
consecutive  utterances. 
(206) 


Diatonic  Melody.  207 

'Ihe  following  sentence  furnishes  an  example  of  the 
projjression  through  pitch  of  the  syllables  of  the  natural 
Dia  ionic  Melody : 


He 

reads 

in 

na   - 

ture's 

in     - 

fi   . 

nite 

^- 

• 

¥ 

-•^ 

-■^ 

-^f- 

-«^ 

^' 

^ 

^ 

book     of 

se 

ere     - 

cy. 

^    ^    ^ 

^     "    »f     ^ 

— ^ 

156.  The  successions  of  syllabic  concretes  forming  the 
melody  of  a  sentence  constitute  in  their  sum  the  current 
mehdy  and  the  melody  of  the  c-adence. 

The  current  melody  embraces  the  varied  successions  of 
all  the  concretes  of  a  sentence,  'except  those  of  the  last 
tw(  or  three  syllables.  The  melodic  successions  of  the 
latter  constitute  the  melody  of  the  cadence  or  close.  This 
part  of  a  melody  marks  the  periods  of  discourse,  and  for 
the  purpose  of  denoting  conclusion  more  or  less  complete, 
at  ts  different  parts,  requires  a  certain  order,  in  the  succes- 
sio  1  of  its  constituents. 

'"he  syllables  of  the  current  melody  have,  however,  no 
fix(  d  order  of  succession  as  to  radical  pitch.  Following 
tht  conditions  of  the  diatonic  melody  with  regard  to  extent 
of  interval  employed,  concrete  and  discrete,  the  same 
wo'ds  may  be  given  with  a  variety  of  succession  in  the 
rac  icals  of  their  syllables,  and  still  preserve  the  natural 
character  of  the  simple  melody  of  plain  narrative  or 
th(  ughtive  utterance. 

That  the  syllabic  successions  may  be  agreeable  to  the 
eai,  however,  there  must  not  be  a  too  frequent  repetition 
of  the  same  radical  pitch,  or  its  alternate  rise  and  fall,  or, 
in  fact,  of  any  continued  course  of  too  noticeable  a  regu- 


208 


Murdoch! s  Elocution, 


larity.  The  following  examples  will  illustrate  how  the 
syllabic  successions  of  the  current  melody  may  be  varied 
in  radical  pitch  and  still  retain  the  vocal  character  of  plain 
narrative  language. 


He 

nev    - 

er         drinks,  but      Ti  -  mon's 

sil     - 

ver 

lt^ 

¥ 

^      ^         ^       ^         ^ 

^ 

^f 

treads 

up     - 

on 

his 

lip. 

^ 

.-r 

-/^ 

1 

^          ^          ^       ^            1 

He         nev 

•  er 

drinks, 

but 

Ti  - 

mon's 

sil     - 

ver 

^~       -^ 

^~ 

-«^ 

^ 

^ 

flf 

W         W 

^ 

w ■ 

treads 

up     - 

on 

.his 

lip. 

^ 

»r 

m^ 

1 

^           ^           a         ^            1 

'^ 

He 

nev   - 

er 

drinks, 

but 

Ti  - 

mon's 

sil     - 

ver 

^ 

¥ 

y 

^ 

^ 

mT 

^ 

^    1 

'^                            w              1 

treads 

up     - 

on 

his 

lip. 

^ 

^ 

^ 

^ 

^                                   ^         %. 

The  melodies,  thus  varied  in  the  course  of  this  short 
sentence,  are  all  of  them  equally  appropriate,  and  equally 
well  adapted  to  the  utterance  of  the  thought.  Still  other 
varieties  of  discrete  intonation  could  be  given  to  accom- 
pany the  words  by  which  the  melody  of  the  same  sentence 
might  be  still  farther  varied,  but  these  are  sufficient  for  the 
purposes  of  illustration.     But,  however  varied  the  success 


Diatonic  Melody. 


209 


sive  syllabic  concretes  may  be  as  to  radical  pitch,  their 
melodic  successions  are  all  comprehended  within  a  limited 
nunber  of  definite  groups,  known  as  the  phrases  of  77ielody. 


That      quar  -  ter      most    the 


skill  -  ful     Greeks 


noy, 


Monotone.  Falling  Ditone.         Rising  Tritone.         Rising  Ditone. 

vVhere   yon     wild     fig    -    trees     join     the      walls     of      Troy. 


^     ^   mf\^    ^     ^    ^  \^     'f    ^ 


Falling  Tritone. 


Alternation. 


Triad  of  the  Cadence. 


157.  A  succession  of  two  or  more  syllables,  having  the 
sanre  radical  pitch,  constitute  the  phrase  of  the  monotone. 
Th(  monotone  may  be  illustrated  by  uttering  the  elements 
a,  (^  i,  0,  the  radical  of  each  beginning  on  the  same  line 
of  !)itch. 

The  rising  ditone  includes  two  successive  syllables,  the 
rad  cal  of  the  second  sound  rising  a  single  tone  or  second 
above  the  first.  An  example  of  this  melodic  movement  of 
the  voice  may  be  afforded  on  the  two  syllables  of  the  word 
eve/'ing,  in  the  plain  statement,  without  emphasis,  contained 
in    he  following  sentence:   '^  In  the  evening,  the  sun  sets.'' 

A  falling  ditone  consists  also  of  two  syllabic  concretes, 
of  ivhich  the  second  falls  in  radical  pitch  a  degree  or  tone 
belDw  the  first.  An  illustration  of  this  melodic  effect,  just 
the  reverse  of  the  preceding,  may  be  found  on  the  word 
mo-ning,  of  the  subjoined  sentence:  ''  The  evening  and  the 
morning  were  the  first  day.'' 

'  'he  rising  tritone  consists  of  a  succession  of  three  syllabic 
coi  cretes,  in  which  the  second  rises  in  radical  pitch  a  tone 
ab(  ve  the  first,  and  the  third  a  tone  above  the  second. 
Th  s   movement  of  the   voice  will   be    exemplified    in    the 

M.  E.-I8. 


2  I  o  Murdoch! s  Elocution. 

words  in  our  sleeps  in  the  simple  utterance  of  the  following 
sentence:  **  We  know  that^  in  our  sleep,  we  dreamt 

The  falling  tritone  is  a  melodic  succession  of  three  syllabic 
concretes  exactly  the  reverse  of  the  preceding,  the  rad- 
ical pitch  of  the  second  falling  a  tone  below  that  of  the 
first,  and  that  of  the  third  a  tone  below  the  second.  A 
change  in  the  above  sentence  would  give  the  falling  tritone 
on  the  words  that  we  dream :  ''  We  know  that  we  dream 
in  our  sleep.'''' 

The  alternate  phrase  of  melody  is  formed  by  a  succes- 
sion of  four  or  more  syllables,  of  which  the  concretes  rise 
and  fall  alternately  in  their  radical  pitch.  It  is  in  reality 
but  a  consecutive  repetition  of  the  rising  or  falling  ditone, 
but  as  it  often  occurs  in  melody,  it  is  classed  as  a  separate 
phrase.  The  first  line  of  the  following  couplet  may  illus- 
trate a  long  phrase  of  alternatiDn : 

**So  loud  and  clear  it  seemed  the  ear 
Of  dusty  death  must  wake  and  hear." 

The  rest  of  the  sentence  could  be  given  with  the  same 
movement,  but  if  continued  too  long  it  would  violate  our 
law  of  variety  in  melody. 

The  triad  of  the  cadence  consists  of  three  syllables  de- 
scending by  proximate  degrees;  the  radical  pitch  of  each 
one  falls  one  tone  below  the  preceding,  the  last  constituent, 
being  a  downward  concrete,  produces  the  effect  of  a  close; 
it  is  this  last  movement  that  marks  the  difference  between 
this  form  of  cadence  and  the  falling  tritone,  whose  rising 
concretes  express  continuity. 

The  phrases  of  the  diatonic  melody  are  carried  upward 
and  downward  relatively  to  a  given  pitch,  consequently 
they  should  be  practiced  in  the  five  ranges  of  pitch:  mid- 
dle, high,  highest,  low,  lowest.  We  have  the  following 
notation  to  illustrate  the  course  of  a  long  sentence  through 
nine  of  these  degrees : 


Diatonic  Melody. 


211 


If 

thou 

dost 

si  an  - 

der 

her 

and 

tor    - 

ture     me, 

' 

^r 

^ 

M- 

^ 

^ 

^ 

^        ^ 

W^ 

^ 

a/^ 

^ 

^ 

I^.'e   -   ver      pray     more:    a   -    ban    -   don       all       re   -   morse; 


2=^ 


r   if   If   \_ 


On       hor    -    ror's    head    hor  -  rors     ac     -     cu    -   mu    -    lat«; 


V^  tr    It    ^  ^    ^ 


Do     deeds    to     make    Hea  -  ven  weep,  all 

earth    a   -    mazed : 

m^        m^~      ^^ 

^  ^  ik   J 

^  -r  w  •    * 

^       ^       ~^ 

Tor 

no    - 

thing    canst    thou      to 

dam  -  na 

-    tion    add, 

4                                                               1 

•w — 

¥ 

•^       ^      ^      •^ 

^ 

-f0^ 

^ 

W       W 

^       ¥ 

1 

ireat-er         than      that. 


212  Murdoch's  Elocution. 

158.  It  should  be  distinctly  understood  that  the  notation 
of  the  passage  here  given  is  only  to  illustrate  the  manner 
in  which  the  voice,  in  plain  narrative  utterance,  may 
traverse  the  scale,  and  not  as  an  example  of  expressive 
elocution.  This  is  true  of  all  the  notations;  they  do  not 
represent  the  way  in  which  the  language  must  be  given, 
but  a  way  in  which  it  may  be  given. 

Were  the  present  language  notated  to  denote  expressive 
character,  other  forms  of  both  the  radical  and  concrete 
pitch  would  be  necessary  in  the  notation.  The  preceding 
examples  illustrate  how  the  plain  melody  of  the  second 
may  be  still  farther  varied  to  gratify  the  ear  without  em- 
ploying any  wider  intervals  than  the  tone. 

The  beauty  of  melody,  therefore,  not  only  consists  in 
skillfully  varying  the  order  of  the  phrases  as  they  move 
onward,  but  also  in  correctly  managing  their  rise  and  fall 
through  the  whole  compass  of  the  voice.  A  melody  that 
would  be  made  to  pass  through  any  succession  of  phrases 
directly  ascending  one  above  the  other,  and  then  falling  in 
the  same  formal  manner,  would  give  no  grace  to  language, 
and  a  series  of  such  melodies  would  constitute  the  most 
disagreeable  form  of  oratorical  monotony.  But  if  the  di- 
tones  of  the  melody  are  varied  in  their  progress,  and  inter- 
spersed with  rising  and  falling  tritones,  with  occasional 
monotones  of  several  constituents,  they  may  be  carried 
through  the  entire  compass,  and,  in  return,  through  any 
varied  course  of  rise  and  fall,  with  a  most  agreeable  result. 

An  ascent  or  descent  through  more  than  three  radicals 
should  always  be  avoided.  The  melody  so  constructed  is 
an  aggregate  of  the  simplest  functions  of  the  radical  and 
vanish,  or  vocal  concrete,  in  the  consecutive  utterances  of 
the  syllables  of  language. 

159.  Both  the  concrete  and  discrete  scales  enter  into  the 
melody  of  speech,  the  radical  and  vanish  of  each  syllable 
representing  a  strictly  concrete  progression  of   voice,  and 


Diatonic  Melody,  213 


the  [assing  of  the  voice  from  one  syllable  to  the  next,  a 
strict  y  discrete  progression. 

In  the  different  order  of  succession  in  the  constituent 
concjetes  of  the  diatonic  melody,  the  interval  lying  be- 
tween the  close  of  one  syllable  and  the  beginning  of  the 
next  is  not  always  the  same.  The  concretes  of  the  rising 
ditorie  and  tritone  have  apparently  no  discrete  interval  be- 
twee  1  them,  but  the  fullness  of  the  radical,  as  compared 
with  the  feebleness  of  the  preceding  vanish,  distinctly 
marls  the  difference  between  the  two  or  three  successive 
impi  Ises. 

In  the  monotone,  from  the  termination  of  one  vanish  to 
the  radical  succeeding  there  is  a  discrete  second ;  while 
between  the  constituents  of  the  falling  ditone  and  tritone 
havi  ig  ascending  concretes,  there  is  the  interval  of  two 
tone>,  or  a  third.  These  differences  have,  however,  but 
little  perceptible  effect  upon  the  simple  melody,  since  it  is 
the  fullness  of  the  radical  which  constitutes  the  melodic 
effe(  t,  and  marks  the  progression  of  sounds  upon  the  ear. 

if  o.  The  closing  syllables  of  a  sentence  constitute  the 
Mebdy  of  the  Cadence.  The  cadence  occurs  at  the 
peri)ds  of  discourse,  and  produces  a  satisfactory,  reposeful 
effe(  t  to  the  ear  similar  to  the  conclusion  of  a  tune  in  song. 
Thi;.  conclusion,  which  is  the  desired  effect  of  the  cadence, 
is  limited  to  certain  forms,  and  is  produced  by  the  down- 
war  i  movements  of  the  voice,  consequently  descent  is  the 
essential  of  the  cadent  phrase.  The  descent  may  be  ac- 
con  plished  in  several  ways,  but  in  order  to  produce  the 
true  cadencial  effect  it  must  be  made  through  the  space  of 
thrte  tones  on  the  scale,  with  at  least  one  (and  always  the 
last  syllabic  concrete  downward.  The  triad  of  the  ca- 
derce  fulfills  these  essential  conditions  of  the  cadent 
me  ody. 

It  will  be  found  that  these  same  conditions  are  variously 
me    in  each  of   the  other  forms,  of   which  there  are  five 


2  14  Murdoch's  Elocution, 

beside  the  triad,  making  six  in  all.  The  first  is  the  one 
just  referred  to,  and  is  called  the  Rising  Triad,  from  the 
concretes  of  its  first  two  syllabic  constituents  being  upward. 

Triad  of  the  Cadence. 
Sweet         is  the  breath        of  morn. 


-^ — ¥^ 


The  second  form  differs  from  the  first  only  in  all  of  its 
syllables  being  executed  in  falling  concretes.  This  is  called 
the  full  cadence,  from  the  completeness  of  the  conclusion 
formed  by  the  combined  radical  and  concrete  descent. 

FuU  Cadence,  or  FaUing  Triad. 
The        air        was     fanned     by        un    -    nurn   -  ber'd    plumes. 


w—^  ^  ^    ^  ^    •<    ^  ^ 


The  third  form  is  executed  on  but  two  syllables,  the  first 
of  which  is  assigned  to  a  descending  concrete  interval, 
equal  in  extent  of  concrete  pitch  to  the  sum  of  the  first 
and  second  constituents  of  the  full  cadence.  This  is 
called  the  First  Duad  form,  and  is  illustrated  in  the  follow- 
ing sentence : 

First  Duad. 

With     tur   -   ret      crest     and     sleek     en   -   am  -  el'd      neck. 


The   fourth   form  is  also  confined  to  two  syllables,  and 
differs  from  the  first  Duad,  in  the  syllable  taking  one  fall- 


Diatonic  Melody.  215 

ing   :oncrete,  of  the  extent  of  the  last  two  constituents  of 
the  falling  Triad.     This  is  called  the  Second  Duad. 

Second  Duad. 
The       mean  -  ing         not         the         name       I  call. 


EZ 


The  fifth  form  of  the  cadence  is  that  in  which  the  de- 
sceiit  of  the  voice  through  the  space  of  three  tones  is  made 
on  one  long  syllabic  concrete.  This  is  called  the  Monad 
form, — and  sometimes,  on  account  of  its  being  the  least 
cor  elusive  in  its  effect,   the  feeble  cadence. 


No, 

by 

The  Feeble  Cadence, 
the               rood 

not 

so. 



--%r- 

— "^ 

^            W^ 

^ 

% 

W              W 

A. 

There  is  still  another,  or  sixth  variety,  of  the  cadence. 
It  marks  the  close  of  a  subject  more  completely  than  any 
of  the  preceding,  and  is  effected  by  the  radical  descent  of 
a  :hird,  on  some  syllable  of  the  current  melody  preceding 
an/  of  the  forms  of  the  cadence  (except  the  monad  or 
feeble  form),  and  given  near  enough  to  the  close  to  be  con- 
nt  cted  with  it  by  the  ear.  This  is  called,  from  its  pecu- 
li^rity  of  structure,*  the  Prepared  Cadence. 

The  falling  skip  of  the  third  seems  to  give  notice,  as  it 
Wire,  that  the  voice  is  about  to  fall  into  some  of  the 
c:  dent  phrases.  Other  cadences  denote  in  different  de- 
g  ees  the  conclusion  of  a  particular  thought.  This  cadence 
d  motes  that  the  subject  itself  of  a  paragraph,  chapter, 
V  )lume,  or  entire  discourse  is  finished. 


2i6  Murdoch's  Elocution. 


The  Prepared  Cadence. 
Through    E    -    den      took    their     sol   -   i     -     ta     -     ry       way. 


nf  ^    ^    ^    ^    ^  ^    ^    ^^ 


i6i.  The  several  forms  of  the  cadence  here  given  repre- 
sent various  degrees  of  conclusiveness  and  repose.  It  is 
the  fullness  of  the  radical  which  impresses  the  ear  most 
forcibly,  and  calls  attention  to  the  order  of  syllabic  succes- 
sion. Thus,  in  the  triad  it  is  the  three  radicals  which  so 
conspicuously  mark  the  descent  of  the  voice,  and  consti- 
tutes it  the  most  positive  form  of  the  cadence  or  close,  par- 
ticularly when  the  concrete  pitch  of  its  constituents  is  also 
downward. 

In  the  duad  forms,  the  number  of  radicals  being  les- 
sened, the  impressiveness  of  the  cadencial  character  is  pro- 
portionately so;  while  the  monad  form,  where  there  is  but 
one  radical,  and  the  descent  in  pitch  is  entirely  concrete, 
is  the  least  impressive  or  conclusive  of  all. 

A  third  is  the  nominal  interval  for  this  cadence,  as  it  is 
the  smallest  downward  concrete  that  has  in  its  place  the 
effect  of  a  close.  Its  effect  is  such  as  to  allow  of  either  a 
pause  after  it  or  a  continuation  of  the  discourse.  In  nam- 
ing the  character  of  this  cadence  as  feeble  compared  with 
the  other  forms,  allusion  is  made  to  its  employment  in  the 
diatonic  melody  in  which  it  is  executed  on  a  simple  equable 
concrete.  In  expressive  melody,  it  will  be  found  that  it 
passes  into  the  wider  intervals  of  the  fifth  and  octave, 
when  combined  with  the  forms  of  force,  and  assumes  a 
character  as  strongly  conclusive  as  any  of  the  other  forms 
of  the  close. 

We  shall  also  find  in  expressive  melody,  that  the  constit- 
uent  concretes  of   the   other  cadences  may  pass  into  the 


Diatonic  Melody.  2  i  7 

wider  intervals,  though  preserving  relatively  similar  propor- 
tions to  those  here  described,  the  principle  underlying  both 
the  tioughtive  and  expressive  cadences  being  the  same. 

The  diatonic  melody  of  speech  proceeds  always  by  whole 
tonef ;  it  can  not,  therefore,  have  what  in  music  is  termed 
key,  and  hence  there  is  no  fixed  point  or  key-note  upon 
the  scale  to  which  any  melody  must  return  in  order  to  sat- 
isfac;orily  conclude.  This  being  so,  the  cadence  may  be 
effecced  by  a  descent  from  any  degree  of  the  speaking 
com])ass  (except,  of  course,  the  two  lowest  notes),  through 
all  of  its  various  forms. 

Inexperienced  readers  often  produce  what  has  been 
termed  the  false  cadence  by  allowing  the  voice  to  drop  a 
disc]ete  third  to  the  last  place  of  the  concrete.  This 
should  be  avoided.  Omitting  the  second  constituent  pro- 
duces what  is  called  a  False  Cadence. 

False  Cadence. 
Of         wiles     more     in    -    ex    -    pert      I  boast    not. 


¥    ^   ^    ^    'f    ^ 


w     *     *  ^  — ^ 


1 52.  The  seven  diatonic  phrases,  in  their  many  possible 
fori  is  cf  combination  and  variety  of  progression  through 
the  compass  of  speech,  are  sufficient,  when  judiciously  em- 
plo  Td,  to  prevent  the  common  fault  of  monotony,  arising, 
froi  1  a  repetition  of  the  same  phrases  at  regular  intervals, 
producing  what  is  termed  a  recurring  melody.  It  is  by  no 
me  ms  to  be  expected  that  the  varied  phrases  of  melody 
cai  be  intermingled  in  a  regular  order,  or  by  special 
ch(  ice,  at  the  ordinary  rate  of  reading  or  speaking;  but  if 
veiy  small  sections  of  sentences  are  slowly  read  at  a  time, 
su1  ject  to  the  correction  of  the  student's  own,  or  of  a 
tecHcher's  ear,  with  a  view  to  the  employmeiU  of   a  varied 

M.  E.-19.  ^ 


21 8  Murdoch's  Elocution. 


melody  in  time,  and  by  perseverance  the  voice  will  uncon- 
sciously employ  an  agreeable  variety.  A  clear  perception 
of  the  effect  of  the  falling  ditone  should  be  acquired,  and 
a  command  over  its  use,  so  that  it  may  frequently  play 
among  the  syllables  of  discourse. 

This  movement,  and  the  falling  tritone,  are  phrases  most 
difficult  of  execution,  as  the  descending  movements  in  rad- 
ical pitch  are  like  the  falling  concretes,  least  employed  in 
the  ordinary,  and  frequently  faulty,  uses  of  the  voice. 

The  phrase  of  alternation  produces  a  light,  tripping 
movement  that  is  very  expressive  in  animated  description. 
The  monotone  is  equally  expressive  of  dignified  and  solemn 
language.  The  movements  in  the  first  use  of  the  diatonic 
melody  must  be  stiff  and  formal  until  the  mere  mechanism 
yields  to  an  artistic  command  of   their  variety  in  melody. 

The  notations  are  used  only  to  illustrate  possible  and 
agreeable  combinations  of  the  phrases  of  melody,  and  are 
not  absolute;  /.  ^.,  they  do  not  prescribe  any  one  melodic 
form  as  the  only  means  of  correctly  uttering  the  language 
given.  Each  person  must  be  free  within  the  limitations  of 
certain  principles  to  form  his  own  current  melody  and 
choose  the  form  of  his  cadence. 

Practical  Exercises  on  the  Melodic  Successions. 

163.  To  obtain  a  clear  idea  of  the  radical  changes 
through  a  tone : 

Let  any  of  the  notated  sentences  be  taken,  and  keeping 
in  mind  the  diatonic  character  of  the  melody  and  the  sense 
of  the  words,  utter  only  the  tonic  element  of  each  with  a 
clear,  full  radical. 

The  successive  notes  of  the  melody,  and  their  relative 
position  on  the  scale,  will  thus  be  clearly  marked,  for, 
although  every  element  in  perfected  utterance  must  be 
heard  in  the  syllabic  impulse,  yet  the  tonic  being  generally 


Diatonic  Melody. 


219 


the  most  remarkable,  the  characteristic  of  the  syllable  lies 
in  a  large  measure  with  this  element.  The  ear,  therefore, 
unembarrassed  with  the  other  elements,  will  much  more 
readily  note  the  successive  rise  and  fall  in  radical  pitch, 
part  cularly  when  the '  opening  of  each  constituent  of  the 
melodic  progression  is  marked  by  a  full,  clear  radical. 
After  the  first  practice  on  the  single  tonic  element  of  each 
sylhble,  the  sentence  may  again  be  read,  giving  the  final 
consonants,  still  preserving  the  clear  radical  of  the  syllable; 
and  finally,  when  the  movement  is  pretty  well  established 
to  the  ear  on  this  species  of  inarticulate  utterance,  let  the 
end  re  syllable  be  given. 

Exercises  on  the  Phrases  of  Melody. 

164.  The  following  diagram  is  simply  suggestive  for 
further  exercises  in  numerals,  elements,  words,  and  sen- 
ten  :es  to  cultivate  the  ear  to  variety  of  intonation  in  read- 
ing The  short  sentences  given  below  as  exercises  in  the 
different  forms  of  cadence  should  be  combined  with  the 
diaonic  melody. 


/le.     Arm,     All,  Eve,      Ice,  Old,      Use,     Ooze,  Up,      End. 

i,        a,        a,  e,        i,  o,        u,      00,  u,        e. 


T  lere  where  a 


few     torn        shrubs  the    place         dis  -  close, 


In,      On, 

i,       6, 


Ale,     Eve,      Ice,      Old, 

a,        e,        i,        0, 


Use,    Ooze,     End. 

u,       00,       e. 


I, 

2,             3. 

4>            S,          6,            7. 

8,           9,           10. 

—  •^— 

^ 

^      ^       ^     y 

9f       ^ 

^  ¥ 

The   vil  -  lage         preacher's     mod-est 


man  -  sion    rose. 


2  20  MurdocJt  s  Elocution . 


Examples    for    Practice  on   the  different   Forms  of 
Cadence. 

RISING  triad. 

"The  spirit  can  not  always  |  sleep  in  dust." 

FALLING   TRIAD. 
"Meantime  I'll  keep  you  |  company." 

FIRST    DUAD.  • 

*•  Methought  I  heard  Horatio  say  to-  |  morrow." 

SECOND    DUAD. 
"And  all  the  people  said  |  Amen." 


MONAD    CADENCE. 

"She  brought  to  the  Pharisees  him  that  was  born  |  blind.' 

"  My  sentence  is  for  open  |  war." 

prepared    CADENCE. 

"  Hope  for  a  season  bade  the  world  farewell, 
And  freedom  sJwieked  as  Kosci  |  usko  fell." 

"Let  this  be  done  and  |  Rome  is  safe." 

"And  peaceful  slept  the  mighty  |  Hector's  shade." 


In  the   following  the   fall  may  be  placed   either  on  the 
sixth  or  ninth  syllable  before  the  cadence,  and  perhaps  on 
both  : 
"And   he   went  out  from   his  presence  a  leper  as  white    as    snow." 


Diatonic  Melody. 


221 


The  following  is  an  instance  where  the  descent  may  be 
on  tie  word  immediately  preceding  the  cadence: 

"Th'i    fellowship    of  the    Holy  Ghost    be  with   us  all  \  evermore." 

O  le  of  the  two  diagrams  introduced  here,  shows  the  ad- 
vantages to  be  derived  from  tutoring  the  ear  to  a  recogni- 
tion, and  the  voice  to  an  execution,  of  the  varied  intona- 
tion:; which  produce  melody. 

Ii  the  first  reading  of  "  Cock  Robin'''  we  catch  the  sing- 
song of  the  nursery,  which  charms  the  child  by  the  jing- 
ling recurrence  of  certain  movements  in  the  voice,  but 
which  is  ruinous  to  the  ear,  and  the  teacher  frequently 
wor  cs  months,  and  sometimes  years,  to  educate  out  of  the 
voic  e  that  which  the  mother  has  allowed  to  become  a  vocal 
hab  t.  In  the  second,  a  melody  is  suggested  from  the 
natural  movements  of  the  voice.  Some  of  the  words  are 
rendered  emphatic,  and  call  for  wider  intervals  to  be  intro- 
duced into  the  diatonic  melody.  The  first  sentence  is  a 
pro  lominal  interrogative,  taking  the  partial  form,  and  ends 
as  .L  declarative  sentence,  with  the  triad  of  the  cadence. 
See  ^i6o.  The  diagrams  also  show  the  difference  between 
the  Walker  inflective  system  and  Rush's  syllabic  intonation. 


^•^< 


Who     killed   Cock  Rob  -  in  ?       I,        said     the      spar  -  row, 


'^  ^  -^  ^  X 


With    my     bow 

and     ar   -   row, 

I        killed  Cock  Ro 

-  bin. 

— ^  §r  ^ 

^    ^    ¥" 

^     %^      ^ 

^       V    •^     ^ 

^^ 

Chapter  XVIII. 

Intonation  at  Pauses :  A  study  of  the  Phrases  of  Melody  as  they 
occur  at  Pauses,  in  their  Relations  to  the  Continuation  or 
Completion  of  Sense. 

165.  No  language  moves  through  any  continued  melodic 
succession  of  modified  sentences  or  paragraphs,  or  succes- 
sion of  paragraphs,  without  occasional  pauses,  which,  from 
the  necessities  of  sense  and  respiration,  separate  certain 
words,  or  groups  of  words,   from  each  other. 

All  the  parts  of  continued  discourse  thus  separated,  hav- 
ing the  least  unity  of  purpose,  bear  some  relation  to  each 
other;  and  being  severally  more  or  less  intimate,  punctu- 
ative  marks  are  employed  as  a  means  of  indicating  their 
different  degrees  of  relationship.  The  design  of  this 
grammatical  punctuation  is  to  aid  the  eye  of  the  reader  in 
resolving  a  sentence  into  its  syntactical  portions.  Its  ordi- 
nary use  in  audible  punctuation,  however,  is  almost  exclu- 
sively to  indicate  the  duration  of  the  several  pauses.  The 
temporal  rest  alone  is  not  sufficient  in  all  cases  to  prevent 
obscurity  in  the  mind  of  the  hearer,  or  mistake  as  to  the 
meaning  of  discourse ;  but  the  united  means  of  pause  and 
intonation  serve  to  clearly  set  forth  the  exact  relations  of 
the  several  groups  of  words  or  pausal  sections  of  discourse. 
The  phrases  of  melody  serve  to  give  an  agreeable  variety 
to  language,  and  have  in  their  relation  to  pauses  a  positive 
significance,  which  marks  continuation  or  completion  of 
the  sense. 

166.  The  inherent  character  of  the  rising  and  falling 
movements  of   the  voice  will  at  once  explain  the  peculiar 

(222) 


Intonation  at  Pauses.  223 


power  of  the  different  phrases  of  melody  at  pauses  ex- 
pressed in  the  following: 

The  triad  of  the  cadence  denotes  a  completion  of  the  pre- 
cedin;5  sense,  and  is,  therefore,  admissible  only  at  a  proper 
grammatical  period.  But  it  does  not  follow  that  it  is 
always  to  be  applied  at  the  close  of  the  preceding  sense, 
for  ir  those  forms  of  loose  sentences  and  inverted  periods 
whicl  frequently  occur  in  composition,  there  are  members 
with  this  complete  and  insulated  meaning,  which,  from 
their  position  and  relation  to  the  other  parts  of  the  sen- 
tence following,   will  not  admit  of  this  concluding  phrase. 

Th  e  rising  tritone  denotes  the  most  immediate  connection 
of  thi  parts  of  a  sentence  separated  by  a  pause. 

The  rising  ditone  connects  the  sense  of  the  parts  sepa- 
rated in  a  diminished  degree. 

The  monotone  denotes  a  less  intimate  connection  of  the 
sense   than  the  rising  ditone,   while 

Th  e  falling  ditone,  a  still  more  diminished  relationship ; 
and 

Tl  e  falling  tritone  indicates  the  least  suspension  of  the 
sense  that  can  exist  without  entirely  cutting  off  its  further 
prog  ession.* 

In  the  preceding,  it  is  to  be  understood  that  the  con- 
cretes of  the  several  phrases  are  all  upward.  It  will 
read  ly  be  perceived  that  a  falling  concrete  or  concretes, 
with  any  of   these  phrases,  would  produce  in  all  cases  an 


*]i.ush  suggested,  as  an  aid  in  teaching  phrasing,  the  adoption  of 
a  pii  ictuation  mark  called  a  dicomma.  He  further  suggested  some 
fixed  movements  for  pausal  intonation;  as,  "A  comma  might  de- 
note the  phrase  of  the  rising  tritone ;  a  double  or  dicomma,  the 
risin;  ditone  or  the  monotone;  a  dash,  if  used,  the  monotone;  a 
semi  olon,  the  falling  ditone ;  a  colon,  the  falling  tritone ;  and  a 
peric  d,  the  triad  of  the  cadence."  Sheridan  also  employed  a  kind 
of  d  )uble  comma. 


2  24  Murdoch's  Elocution. 

effect  of  separation  varying  in  degree  according  to  the 
radical  successions  of  the  phrase.  Thus,  a  rising  ditone, 
with  a  downward  concrete  on  the  second  syllable,  together 
with  a  short  pause,  will  produce  the  effect  of  the  comple- 
tion of  a  part  of  the  sentence,  and  also  of  continuation  of 
sense. 

This  form  of  intonation  is  often  required  in  vocally 
punctuating  sentences  which  are  so  constructed  as  to  de- 
tach the  sense  from  what  follows  so  far  that  a  falling  move- 
ment is  required,  rather  than  a  rising  one,  and  yet  not  a 
fall  of  the  cadence.* 

The  monotone  and  falling  ditone,  with  a  downward  con- 
crete on  their  last  syllable,  are  often  used  as  similar  instances 
of  a  wide  separation  of  sense,  but  still  a  dependence  of 
parts,  requiring  a  vocal  movement  indicative  of  partial 
completion.  These  movements  are  sometimes  termed  the 
poetic  monotone,  as  they  produce  a  beautiful  melody  in 
poetry,  where  wider  intervals  would    be  too  matter-of-fact. 

167.  The  Partial  Cadence  avoids  the  effect  of  full  com- 
pletion of  sense,  and  secures  the  dependence  of  parts  by 
being  made  on  the  last  three  syllables  of  the  clause  to 
which  it  is  applied;  the  first  two  syllables  form  the  rising 
ditone,  with  a  downward  concrete  on  the  third. 


Let 

your 

com 

■    pan    - 

ions 

be 

se    • 

lect. 

^ 

^^ 

g^ 

^ 

^^ 

^ 

^ 

W 

9 

9 

If  the  following  example  from  '■'•  Paradise  Lost^^  should 
be   given  with   a   monotone,    with  last   concrete    falling  at 


*  Such  sentences  are  most  frequently  found  among  the  earlier 
writers,  such  as  Milton,  whose  style  is  founded  on  the  Latin  con- 
struction. They  are  not  as  much  used  by  writers  who  have  had 
the  advantage  of  a  maturer  language. 


Intonation  at  Pauses,  225 

''sup -erne,"  and  partial  cadence  at  "mild  was  heard,"  the 
sense  will  be  clearly  conveyed;  a  cadence  (unless  it  were 
the  nonad  form)  would  separate  it  too  much  from  what 
folio v's : 

"On  to  the  sacred  hill 
They  lead  him  high  applauded,  and  present 
Before  the  seat  Supreme ;  from  whence  a  voice, 
From  'midst  a  golden  cloud  thus  mild  was  heard : 
Servant  of  God,  well  done." 

— Milton. 

A  general  direction  for  the  management  of  the  voice  at 
pausis,  derived  from  the  principles  underlying  intonation, 
may  be  given  as  follows : 

A  Full  Period  requires  some  form  of  the  cadence, 

A  Colon  may  have  a  cadence  or  a  falling  tritone,  or  a 
monotone  with  last  concrete  downward;  or  the  partial 
cadtnce,  or  falling  ditone,  with  downward  concrete. 

A  Comma  may  have  a  rising  tritone  or  ditone,  all  having 
risirg  concretes. 

The  choice  of  phrase  to  be  employed  in  each  case  must 
be  determined  by  the  sense  in  the  relation  of  thoughts  and 
idcc  s. 

1 58.  The  following  notated  passage  from  Milton  is  an 
exa  nple  of  expressive  language  really  belonging  under  the 
head  of  the  admirative  or  reverentive  style.  It  is  not  the 
obj  ;ct  here,  however,  to  illustrate  the  sentiment  of  the  lan- 
guage, as  that  would  carry  us  beyond  the  province  of  the 
pla  n,  inexpressive  melody.  The  notation  is  designed  to 
exemplify  the  use  of  the  melodic  phrases  at  pauses,  simply 
for  the  development  of  the  sense^  and  is  to  be  read  in  the 
plan  diatonic  melody.  Moreover,  the  notation  of  this 
passage  is  not  given  as  the  prescribed  and  only  way  in 
which  it  may  be  rendered,  but  to  furnish  the  student  with 
ins  cances  of  the  power  and  place  of  the  phrases  of  melody 


226 


Murdochs  Elocution. 


as  connected  with  pauses.  The  principles  governing  the 
use  of  notations,  explained  in  the  preceding  division  of 
this  chapter,  being  the  same  in  this  and  all  other  instances 
of  their  employment. 


So       spake   the 

Se   - 

raph     Ab  -  die!, 

faith  -  fill        found 

^    mT    ¥ 

^- 

^      ^     ^ 

^     ^     ^       \ 

w ■  •r-    ^      ^                       ^    -■      ■-          -^ 1 

A    -    mong    the      faith-less :     Faith  -  ful      on    -    ly  he 


^    ^  ^    ^    V  *^«L   ^-1 


A     -    mong   in   -   nu   -   me   -   ra   -   ble      false;  un    -   moved, 


^   <^    ^  «^    <r 


Un    -   sha  -  ken,     un   -   se   -   duced,  un    -   ter   -   ri    -     fied ; 


^  ^   ,r  ^  ^  ^  ^~ir~r 


His 

loy  - 

al    - 

ty 

he 

kept ;  his 

love,    his 

zeal. 

^ 

-^^ 

_jgL_ 

^^ 

^     ^ 

^     ^ 

^ 

5 

Nor 

num  -  ber, 

nor 

ex 

-   am   - 

pie, 

with    him  wrought, 

^ 

^     ^ 

^^ 

•" 

^ 

-r  ^  ^ 

w — 

^ 

—w — w —  ^  ■ 

To 

swerve  from 

truth 

or 

change  his 

con    - 

stant 

mind, 

^ 

mT        ^ 

^^^ 

^ 

•r  wi 

^ 

^ 

^        1 

Though    sin 

gle. 

^      ^£- 

^        •^ 

I 


Intonation  at  Pauses.  227 

The  pause  at  Abdiel  is  marked  with  a  falling  ditone,  be- 
cause the  included  member  does  not  necessarily  produce 
the  expectation  of  additional  meaning  or  qualification,  and 
because  this  phrase  does  not  dissolve  the  grammatical  con- 
cord between  the  members  which  it  separates.  The  triad  of 
the  cadence  is  placed  o\\  faithless,  with  a  view  to  indicate 
the  considerable  separation  of  the  sense  at  this  point. 

Tl^e  accepted  grammatical  punctuation  of  the  editor 
place  s  a  comma  at  faithless,  and  thus  makes  the  three  suc- 
ceed ng  words  a  very  dependent  clause,  whereas  it  is  very 
little  dependent,  and  should,  therefore,  be  marked  with  a 
colon.  The  words  ''faithful  only  he,"  may  be  regarded  as 
an  elliptical  sentence  which  requires  the  cadence. 

Tlie  next  pause  at  false  is  preceded  by  a  rising  di- 
tone because  there  is  but  a  slight  suspension  of  the  voice 
and  Df  the  sense.  The  structure  of  the  member  evidently 
creates  expectancy,  and  this  species  of  phrase  indicated 
that  continuation  of  the  sense  involving  expectancy. 

O '  the  four  succeeding  pauses,  the  first  three  are  notated 
with  the  monotone  to  foretell  the  continued  progression  of 
sens  J.  The  fourth,  at  unterrifed,  has  the  falling  ditone  to 
den(  te  a  change  and  less  of  suspension,  but  not  a  close  of 
thou  ght. 

Viriety  might  be  shown  in  ordering  these  four  pauses, 
without  affecting  the  sense,  by  giving  to  the  last  two  sylla- 
bles of   unshaken  or  of  unseduced  a  rising  ditone. 

T  le  rising  ditone  is  placed  at  kept,  for  since  love  and  zeal 
are,  equally  with  loyalty,  the  grammatical  objectives  of  the 
verl  kept,  although  disjoined  by  the  inverted  construction 
of  t  le  verse,  no  other  phrase  at  this  pause  would  conduce 
so  iiuch  to  impress  upon  the  ear  the  true  syntax  of  the 
sent  ence. 

The  editor's  punctuation  of  this  passage  usually  places  a 
semicolon  at  zeal;  but  the  second  duad  employed  here 
will  aid  in  referring  love  and  zeal  back  as  objects  of  kepty 


228 


Murdocli  s  Elociitio7i, 


and  thus  prevent  their  bearing  forward  as  nominatives  to 
some  expected  verb,  a  vocal  effect  which  might  not  be  pro- 
duced by  employing  at  this  place  some  of  the  continuative 
phrases  of  melody  appropriate  to  the  semicolon. 

The  remaining  part  of  this  passage,  as  well  as  the  other 
notated  passages  following,  contain  examples  of  the  princi- 
ples just  elucidated,  and  need  no  explanation. 


On 

Lin 

-    den, 

when 

the 

sun 

was 

low, 

^ 

^ 

^ 

^ 

^ 

w — 

-w — 

^ 

^ 

^ 

All 

blood  - 

less 

lay      the 

un 

-     trod 

-  den 

snow; 

^ 

J 

.W       ^ 

^ 

mf 

^ 

1 

w         •         ^                                 ^        1 

And 

dark 

as 

win    - 

ter 

was 

the 

flow 

^ 

— ^^ 

¥ 

-¥^ 

-^^ 

-€P- 

^ 

^ 

^ 

^ 

Of 

I      - 

ser, 

roll   - 

ing 

ra     - 

pid    - 

ly. 

^ 

^ 

^ 

•r 

¥ 

¥ 

^^ 

"          ^          1 

A  simple  rule  in  this  connection  is: 

(i)  Avoid  the  same  phrase  or  cadence  at  similarly  recur- 
ring pauses,   especially  in  reading  rhyme. 

(2)  Avoid  repeating  the  same  set  of  phrases,  in  the  same 
order,  in  the  current  melody  of  successive  sentences. 

An  error  to  be  avoided  in  reading  consists  in  employing, 
in  the  effort  to  produce  the  effect  of  suspension  at  pauses 
where  there  is  a  close  dependence  of  parts,  the  rising  third 
or  fifth,  instead  of  the  rising  tritone,  ditone,  or  the  mono- 


Intonation  at  Pauses.  229 

tone,  with  upward  concretes.  These  wider  intervals  have 
an  e>pressive  character,  which  is  foreign  to  the  plain  dia- 
tonic melody. 

Examples  for  Practice  on  Intonation  at  Pauses. 

i6().  The  simple  exercise  of  counting  already  given  in 
the  sudy  of  the  current  melody,  may  also  be  employed  to 
great  advantage  in  order  to  become  familiar  with  the  melody 
at  pauses.  The  numerals  should  be  divided  into  groups, 
and  ;he  various  phrases  of  near  and  remote  connection  ap- 
plied to  their  final  syllable,  closing  the  last  group  with 
some  form  of  cadence.  It  is  needless  to  illustrate  the  ap- 
plicadon  of  this  practice,  as  it  can  not  fail  to  be  understood 
from  the  counting  exercises  given  in  the  preceding  division. 
The  ingenious  teacher  can  diversify  this  exercise  to  any 
extent  for  the  purposes  of  teaching  children.  The  employ- 
ment of  counting  has  here  an  additional  value  as  a  breath- 
ing jxercise,  a  quick  indraught  of  breath  being  taken  at 
the  ihorter  pause,  and  a  full  inspiration  at  the  complete 
peric  >ds. 

A 1  excellent  exercise  in  teaching  children  or  young 
readers  the  effects  of  the  rising  and  falling  second  in  the 
currmt  of  melody,  and  also  the  effect  of  intonation  at 
pau!^  es,  is  as  follows : 

Tike  any  simple  sentence,  such  as:*'  The  cat  caught  the 
bird"  and*  arrange  it  as  one  long  word,  without  space  or 
capitals,  thus:  '■'•  thecatcaughtthebird."  Then  let  the  pupil 
piclv  out  each  word,  which  he  will  pronounce  naturally  as 
an  object  of  independent  sense,  not  knowing,  and  hence 
not  vocally  indicating  its  relation  to  those  following. 

^ext  let  him,  after  having  distinguished  all  the  words  in 
this  way,  repeat  them  as  they  stand  in  the  sentence.  In 
this  his  voice  will  naturally  employ  the  rising  concretes, 
excepting   at  the   close.     Taking   the   sentence  given,    we 


230 


Murdoch's  Elocution. 


would  have  a  simple  melody   something   like   the   follow- 
ing: 


The     cat 

caught    the     bird. 

m/     ^ 

%' 

This  would  be  divided  into  two  groups :  the  noun  and 
its  modifiers,  and  the  verb  with  the  words  attaching  to  it: 
"■  The  cat  \  caught  the  bird:'  \ 

Now,  let  another  phrase  be  added,  as :  "  The  cat  caught 
the  bird  that  was  in  the  cage:'  The  voice  does  not  here 
use  the  concluding  phrase  at  the  bird,  on  account  of  the 
added  and  closely  connected  thought  which  follows.  The 
intonation  of  the  sentence,  then,  would  take  something 
like  the  following  form : 


The 

cat 

caught  the 

bird 

that 

was 

in 

the 

cage. 

^ 

^ 

mf     ^     ^ 

mi 

y 

^ 

^ 

W 

-w — ^-  ■■- 

'     5. 

A  rising  ditone  or  monotone  could  also  be  given  at  the 
bird,  and  still  illustrate  the  suspensive  sense. 

The  intonation  at  pauses,  together  with  their  proper  and 
relative  duration,  may  be  further  illustrated  by  adding 
another  member  to  the  same  sentence,  continuing  the 
sense.  Thus:  "  The  cat  \  caught  the  bird  \  that  was  in  the 
cage,  ^  but  Mary  saw  her  \  and  took  the  bird  away:'  Here 
the  partial  cadence,  or  the  monotone  with  last  concrete 
falling,  or  the  monad  cadence,  may  be  used  at  cage  to 
make  the  ear  recognize  the  continuation  of  the  sense  in  the 
last  member. 

This  method  of  leading  the  child  to  observe  for  himself, 
and  then  to  point  out  to  him  the  causes  of  the  effects  he 


Intonation  at  Pauses.  231 

has  recognized,  is  one  of  the  simplest  and  most  certain 
metiods  of  instructing  him  in  principles,  and  cultivating 
his  ear  at  the  same  time.  I  give  this  example  merely  as 
an  illustration  of  the  many  ways  in  which  a  teacher  may 
sim i)lify  and  illustrate  the  principles  of  speech. 


170.  Sentences  for  Practice  on  Intonation  at  Pauses. 

I  One,    two,    three,  |  is   one  part   of   ten ;  |  four,    five,   and   six,  [ 
constitute  the  second  part,  |  and  seven,  eight,  nine,  and  ten  |  compose 
the  remainder.     Count  them  |  one,  two,  three,  four,  five,  six,  seven, 
eigVt,  nine,  ten,  ||  you  have  not  counted  correctly.     Count  again,  one, 
two    etc. 

In  the  above  exercise,  the  numerals  are  upward  seconds, 
var  ed  in  the  different  phrases  of  melody  with  partial 
cadence  at  the  semicolon.  The  next  phrase  will  be  marked 
by  a  rising  ditone  at  part,  with  triad  of  the  cadence  at  the 
period.  The  mistake  in  counting  will  probably  be  made 
by  giving  each  numeral  a  downward  instead  of  a  rising 
coi  Crete. 

"The  loving  parent  takes  special  care  to  enlarge  the  mental 
po\  er  of  his  children ;  also,  to  provide  for  their  necessary  and 
grooving  physical  wants.  In  thus  doing,  he  only  complies  with  the 
la\A  3  of  nature  and  reason,  strengthened  by  the  teachings  of  wisdom 
anc  virtue,  having  for  their  basis  the  divine  commands,  as  written 
on  ;he  tablets,  which  were  intrusted  to  Moses  amid  the  thunder  and 
the  smoke  of  the  holy  mountain." 

The  semicolon,  in  the  former  sentence,  might  be  marked 
by  a  partial  cadence;  the  period,  by  the  feeble  cadence, 
mc  de  from  a  rise  through  a  tritone  on  physical;  doing,  by 
a  ising  ditone;  and  the  words  and  reason  carried  up  by  a 
rising  tritone  to  mark  the  close  continuation  of  thought 
wi:h  having  for  their  basis;  the  introduced  matter  must  be 
m,.de  apparent  through  the  rising  ditone  on  vifiue. 


232  Murdoch's  Elocution. 

Commands  may  be  made  distinctive  by  being  struck 
above  the  current  melody,  and  coming  down  a  third,  which 
will  not  separate  it  from  the  following  thought.  The  word 
Moses  may  be  used  as  a  preparation  for  the  full  cadence. 
The  teacher  should  analyze  other  loose  sentences  of  con- 
tinued sense;  placing  them  on  the  blackboard,  and  allow- 
ing the  scholars  to  mark  off  the  sentences,  and  also  point 
the  continuation  of  thought  by  the  pausal  intonations. 


Downward  Movements  of  the  Voice  in  the  Diatonic 
Melody. 

171.  In  the  plain  use  of  language  in  the  current  of 
thoughtive  utterance,  the  upward  movements,  particularly 
in  the  concrete  progression,  are  the  rule,  while  the  down- 
ward are  the  exception.  For  this  reason,  the  diagrams 
already  given  for  the  first  study  of  melody  are  all  notated 
with  rising  concretes,  excepting  at  the  cadence  and  some 
other  pauses.  The  falling  concrete,  and  an  occasional  fall- 
ing ditone  or  tritone,  gives  a  pleasing  variety  to  the  cur- 
rent melody,  and  should  be  introduced  to  relieve  reading 
of  that  species  of  monotony  arising  from  an  exclusive  use 
of  the  upward  movements,  a  very  great  fault  with  almost 
all  unskilled  readers. 

172.  All  the  words  of  plain  narrative  language,  although 
inexpressive,  are  not  of  equal  importance.  Plain  thought 
must  be  enforced,  and  distinctions  effected,  antithetic  and 
otherwise,  by  giving  some  special  significance  to  particular 
words.  This  is  called  distinctive  emphasis.  The  present 
instruction  is  intended  to  teach  the  means  of  effecting  such 
emphasis,  leaving  to  the  student's  intelligence  and  appre- 
hension of  the  sense  of  the  language,  the  words  requiring 
prominence  in  reading  plain  narrative  or  a  statement  of 
facts. 


Intonation  at  Pauses.  233 

All  downward  movements,  concrete  and  discrete,  pro- 
duce an  effect  of  greater  gravity  or  weight  than  rising 
mov(;ments,  and  words  of  two  or  more  syllables  may  re- 
ceive distinctive  emphasis  by  executing  a  falling  ditone  on 
the  accented  syllable,  as  in  the  word  revolution,  in  the 
phraje,   ''  This  revolution  overthrew  the  government.'^ 

Tlie  diatonic  melody  consists  of  successive  concrete  and 
disci  ete  seconds,  moving  up  and  down  relatively  to  an 
initial  note.  In  some  forms  of  the  melody  of  the  cadence, 
to  produce  a  varied  and  satisfactory  close  to  the  ear,  the 
voic3  moves  beyond  the  concrete  of  a  second  into  that  of 
a  third,  as  in  the  first  and  second  duad  and  the  feeble 
cadtnce.  The  use  of  the  third,  either  rising  or  falling,  if 
it  receive  no  more  coloring  from  force,  time,  and  pitch 
thar  belongs  to  the  moderate  character  of  the  diatonic 
melody,  becomes  an  allowable  and  very  satisfactory  means 
of  distinction  in  this  melody,  and  has  been  termed  the 
distinctive  third ;  this,  with  the  shorter  wave  of  the  second, 
and  the  falling  ditone,  when  variously  employed,  will  pro- 
due, '  simply  distinctive  emphasis,  which  gives  to  words  in 
phr;,ses  about  the  same  prominence  that  accent  gives  to 
sylL.bles  in  polysyllabic  words,  but  does  not  amount  to  what 
has  been  termed  expression. 

The  faUing  ditone  and  the  distinctive  third  may  thus  be 
usei  for  the  purposes  of  designation,  or  of  announcing  a 
subiect  or  topic  in  didactic  style,  introducing  a  person  or 
an  event  in  narrative,  or  an  object  in  descriptive  style. 
Th  ;  upward  and  downward  third  is  employed  for  distinc- 
tion in  contrasts,  as  in  one  of  two  antithetic  words  or 
phi  ases. 

Examples  for  Practice. 

-  ''or  other  vocal  elements  which  unite  with  the  diatonic 
int  mation  in  the  utterance  of  plain  narrative  or  thoughtive 
larguage,  the  student  is  referred  to  ^1156. 


234  Murdoch! s  Elocution. 

**I  remember  listening,  in  the  midst  of  a  crowd,  many  years  ago, 
to  the  voice  of  a  girl — a  mere  child  of  sixteen  summers — till  I  was 
bewildered." 

"And  the  prayer,  that  my  mouth  is  too  full  to  express. 
Swells  my  heart,  that  thy  shadow  may  never  be  less." 

**  He  gave  to  misery  all  he  had — a  tear, 
He  gain'd  from  Heaven — 'twas  all  he  wish'd — a  friend." 

*'The  duties  of  a  citizen  of  a  republic  formed  the  subject  of  the 
orator's  address." 

"The  progress  of  the  Italian  opera  in  this  country  will  form  the 
subject  of  this  essay." 

•"Tis  hard  to  say  if  greater  want  of  skill 
Appears  in  writing  or  va  judging  ill." 

••I  had  rather  be  \}ci^  first  man  in  that  village  than  the  second 
in  Romey 

In  connection  with  the  study  of  intonation  at  pauses, 
the    poetic    monotone    introduces    a   beautiful    movement. 

"The  'poetic  monotone'  is  properly  the  distinctive  'second' 
which  gives  to  the  language  of  verse  or  of  poetic  prose,  when  not 
marked  by  emphatic  or  impassioned  force,  its  peculiar  melody,  as 
contrasted  with  the  '  partial  cadence '  of  '  complete  sense  in  clauses.' 
The  two  faults  commonly  exemplified  in  passages  such  as  the  follow^ 
ing,  are :  1st,  That  of  terminating  a  clause  which  forms  complete 
sense,  with  a  'partial  cadence;'  2d,  That  of  terminating  it  with 
the  upward  'slide  of  the  third.'  Both  these  errors  turn  verse  into 
prose,  or  render  poetic  language  in  prose  dry  and  inexpressive,  as 
both  these  modes  of  voice  are  the  appropriate  language  of  fact,  and 
not  oi  feeling  or  melody.'*^ 

Refer  to  Byron's  ''Aspect  of  Death,'"  (see  subdued  force.) 
This  long  periodic  sentence  requires  great  care  in  group- 


Intonation  at  Pauses.  235 

ing,  and  variety  in  the  use  of  poetic  monotone.  Again, 
the  following  lines  from  Byron's  ^^Mazeppa^'  require  the 
same  treatment: 

"Away ! — away  I — and  on  we  dash ! — 
Torrents  less  rapid  and  less  rash. 
Away,  away,  my  steed  and  I, 
Upon  the  pinions  of  the  wind, 
All  human  dwellings  left  behind : 
We  sped  like  meteors  through  the  sky. 
When  with  its  crackling  sound  the  night 
Is  chequered  with  the  northern  light : — 
From  out  the  forest  prance 
A  trampling  troop, — I  see  them  come ! 
A  thousand  horse — and  none  to  ride  ! 
With  flowing  tail,   and  flying  mane. 
Wide  nostrils,  never  stretched  by  pain, 
Mouths  bloodless  to  the  bit  or  rein. 
And  feet  that  iron  never  shod. 
And  flanks  unscarred  by  spur  or  rod, — 
A  thousand  horse, — the  wild,  the  free, — 
Like  waves  that  follow  o'er  the  sea, 
Came  thickly  thundering  on : — 
They  stop, — they  start, — they  snuff  the  air. 
Gallop  a  moment  here  and  there. 
Approach,  retire,  wheel  round  and  round, 
Then   plunging  back  with  sudden  bound, — 
They  snort, — they  foam — neigh — swerve  aside, 
And  backward  to  the  forest  fly, 
By  instinct,  from  a  human  eye." 

"Within,  the  master's  desk  is  seen. 
Deep  scarred  by  raps  official; 
The  warping  floor,  the  battered  seats. 
The  jack-knife's  carved  initial ; 

The  charcoal  frescos  on  its  wall; 

Its  door's  worn  sill,  betraying 
The  feet  that,  creeping  slow  to  school, 

Went  storming  out  to  playing !  " 

— Whittier. 


Chapter  XIX. 
Expressive  Intonation. 

173.  Discourse  never  continues  long  in  the  simple 
thoughtive  melody,  as  occasional  necessities  for  emphasis 
or  expression  upon  certain  words  will  introduce  into  its 
current  variations  of  the  wider  or  expressive  concrete  and 
discrete  intervals. 

The  expressive  character  of  the  upward  movements  de- 
pends upon  that  inherent  suspensive  property  of  the  voice 
indicative  of  incompleteness  in  the  thought. 

The  rising  third,  fifth,  and  octave  are  all  expressive  of 
interrogation,  varying  in  the  degree  of  earnestness  or  in- 
tensity with  the  extent  of  each.  They  also  confer,  in 
varied  degrees,  when  not  interrogative,  an  emphatic  distinc- 
tion upon  the  words  they  mark. 

The  rising  octave  expresses  the  most  intense  degree  of 
interrogation  and  emphasis,  and  accompanies  questions  of 
a  sneering,  taunting,  peevish,  contemptuous,  or  rallying 
character.  As  an  emphatic  distinction,  not  interrogative,  it 
expresses  surprise^  astonishment,  admiration,  etc.,  when  they 
imply  a  degree  of  doubt  or  inquiry.  Let  the  word  indeed 
be  uttered  with  strong  surprise,  mingled  with  keen  inquiry, 
and  the  voice  will  rise  on  the  second  syllable  through  an 
octave.  In  the  sneering  question  of  Shylock,  exulting 
over  Antonio,  we  have  an  instance  of  the  extreme  em- 
phatic character  of  the  rising  concrete  octave : 

"Hath  a  dog  money?     Is  it  possible 
A  cur  should  lend  three  thousand  ducats?" 
(336) 


Expressive  Into7iation.  237 

All  example  of  the  emphasis  of  the  rising  discrete  octave 
may  be  exhibited  in  the  exasperated  interrogative  of 
Hamlet,  addressed  to  Laertes,  on  a  succession  of  short 
sylla  )ic  quantities : 

"Zounds,  show  me  what  thou 'It  do; 
^oo'i  weep?     V^oo\  Jight?     Woo't  fast?     Woo't  /^ar  thyself?" 

Tlie  concrete  rise  or  fall  through  the  wider  intervals  re- 
quires a  syllable  of  long  quantity,  as  in  fear,  for  its  drawn 
out  sound;  whereas  the  inimutables,  or  shorter  mutable 
syllables,  can  only  be  thrown  into  altitude  and  depression 
by  discrete  skips,  their  natural  means  of  distinction  in 
pitcli. 

174.  The  concrete  intervals  impress  the  ear  more 
stro]igly,  owing  to  the  time  of  their  duration,  but  the  dis- 
cret'j  can  be  made  strongly  impressive  by  radical  stress. 
The  general  expressive  character  of  the  upward  intonation, 
und  jr  the  modifications  of  either  concrete  or  discrete  rise 
or  (hange  in  radical  pitch,  is,  however,  the  same. 

The  rising  fifth  is  expressive  of  a  less  piercing  and  more 
digi  ified,  though  equally  forcible,  interrogative.  It  is  the 
most  common  form  of  question.  As  an  emphatic  expres- 
sion, it  conveys  wonder,  admiration,  and  similar  states  of 
mind,  when  implying  a  slight  degree  of  doubt.  In  this 
coniection,  it  is  also  expressive  of  more  dignity  than  the 
em]»hatic  rising  octave.  In  Satan's  words,  the  admirative 
em]ihasis  of  exultation  on  thee  may  be  given  in  the  rising 
concrete  fifth: 

"Evil,  be  thou  my  good:  by  fAee  at  least 
Divided  empire  with  Heaven's  king  I  hold." 

The  emphasis  of  the  discrete  rising  fifth  is  illustrated  in 
the  following  lines,  where  the  immutable  syllable  is  given 
the  admirative  expression  by  being  jumped  from  the  cur- 
rer  t  melody  through  the  extent  of  this  interval : 


238  Murdochs  Elocution. 

•'Inspire  us  with  the  spleen  of  fiery  dragoons! 
Upon  them!    Victory  sits  on  our  helms." 

The  rising  concrete  and  discrete  third  are  appropriate  to 
that  form  of  interrogation  employed  in  the  most  moderate 
forms  of  inquiry ;  it  is  not  connected  with  passionative  states 
of  mind,  and  is  used  simply  for  the  purposes  of  seeking 
information.  It  is  also  employed  for  a  moderate  emphasis, 
and  especially  for  marking  emphatic  words  of  a  conditional, 
concessive,  or  hypothetical  character.  As  an  example  of  the 
interrogative  third,  the  following  may  be  given : 

"What,  looked  he  frowningly  ?  " 

The  dignified  and  less  intensive  distinction  of  the  rising 
third  may  be  applied  to  the  word  he  in  the  following 
lines : 

"Who  first  seduced  them  to  that  foul  revolt? 
The  infernal  serpent,  he  it  was  whose  guile 
Stirred  up  with  envy  and  revenge." 

As  an  example  of  a  discrete  third,  we  may  take  the 
word  victory,  in  the  example  given,  to  illustrate  the  fifth, 
simply  giving  it  with  less  earnestness.  Its  character  of 
concession  is  also  shown  in  the  hypothetical  clause  of  this 
sentence : 

♦''If  I  must  contend,^  said  he, 
•Best  with  the  best,   the  sender  not  the  sent.'" 

It  may  be  asked,  what  is  the  difference  in  the  employ- 
ment of  the  wider  rising  intervals  for  interrogation,  and  for 
that  of  emphasis  only.  Where  the  rising  intervals  are 
used  merely  for  emphatic  purposes,  the  voice,  after  having 
risen  in  pitch,  returns  immediately  to  or  near  the  line  of 
the  current  melody  by  a  discrete  skip,  continuing  there  on 
the  unemphatic  or  unaccented  syllables  until  a  further  em- 
phasis  is   required;    as,    for   illustration,    in  the   following, 


Expressive  Intonation.  239 

wheie  the  rising   fifth   is   employed  as  an  admirative  em- 
phasis to  point  the  word  beauty: 

'•Tears  like  the  rain-drops  may  fall  without  measure, 
But   rapt  -    ure     and      beau-ty        they      can      not      re    -    call." 


L^: 

jl ^ 

-¥^^>i- 

^'^-ir- 

Oi  the  other  hand,  where  a  sentence  of  thorough  inter- 
rogation requires  the  rising  octave  or  fifth  on  its  long  and 
accented  syllables,  the  voice,  instead  of  descending  again 
to  the  current  melody  on  the  short  and  unaccented  sylla- 
bles as  in  the  preceding  instance,  continues  on  these  at 
the  summit  of  the  vanish  of  the  long  concrete  until  it  be- 
comes necessary  to  drop  discretely,  to  rise  again  on  the 
next  long  and  important  syllable. 


Wider  Downward  Movements. 

I  '5.  Positiveness  and  affirmation,-  directly  the  reverse  of 
the  doubtful  or  suspensive  character  of  the  rising  move- 
merts,  mark  in  a  greater  or  less  degree  all  downward  in- 
tone tion.  There  is  a  finality  in  such  movements  related  in 
its  jffects  to  the  conclusive  character  of  the  cadence — a 
positiveness  of  declaration  or  assertion  that  admits  of  no 
•uncirtainty  or  doubt. 

1  he  wider  falling  movements  are  used  exclusively  for 
emphasis,  and  they  place  words  in  a  very  vivid  and  impres- 
sive light.  They  express  strong  conviction  and  command, 
dem  nciation,  indignation,  and  resolution.  They  also  express 
wotiier,  surprise,  astonish?nent,  and  admiration  when  these 
sen  iments  overrule  all  doubt  or  inquiry  in  the  mind. 

1  et  the  student  utter  the  words  you  shall  as  if  enforcing 
a  former  refusal,  and  then  the  faUing  third  will  be  heard. 


240  Murdochs  Elocution, 

More  earnestly  and  positively  uttered,  the  interval  on  shall 
will  be  a  downward  fifth.  Then,  if  pronounced  as  if  the 
matter  could  not  be  gainsaid,  and  as  a  final  decision,  shall 
will  pass  through  the  downward  octave. 

The  downward  concrete  is  employed  in  two  ways:  in 
one,  the  descent  proceeds  from  the  line  of  the  current 
melody ;  in  the  other,  from  a  line  of  pitch  above  the  current 
melody^  descending  either  to  it  or  below  it,  according  to  the 
strength  of  the  emphasis.  The  weakest  emphasis  of  a 
downward  concrete  is  that  made  from  the  line  of  the 
melody,  the  expression  becoming  more  impressive  as  the  radical 
rises  by  a  discrete  movement  above  the  line. 

The  same  holds  true  of  the  wider  rising  concretes,  the 
discrete  interval  being  always  in  a  direction  opposite  to  the 
concrete.  ^Vhen  the  concrete  is  upward,  the  discrete  de- 
scends in  proportion  to  the  emphasis  of  the  former.  Take 
the  sentence:  ''»S/r,  /  thank  the  government  for  this  meas- 
ure.^' If  read  in  simply  a  grave  and  dignified  manner,  the 
word  thank  requires  a  downward  third;  but  should  it  be 
given  with  a  rising  discrete  interval  and  a  rising  concrete, 
the  expression  of  the  sentence  will  change  from  gravity  to 
lightness,  and  the  emphasis  lose  its  impressive  character 
derived  from  the  effect  of  downward  movements. 

We  have  an  instance  of  the  descending  concrete  octave 
as  expressive  of  admiration  and  astonishment  in  the  words 
well  done,  uttered  as  a  strong  exclamation  of  mirthful  sur- 
prise. The  first  word  well  should  be  uttered  in  high  pitch, . 
and  done  should  descend  concretely  from  that  height  with 
extended  quantity. 

If  the  two  words  of  the  interjection  Heigh,  ho!  be 
uttered  on  the  extremes  of  the  natural  voice,  or  of  high 
and  low  pitch,  a  discrete  skip  of  an  octave  will  be  made. 

A  falling  discrete  third  and  fifth  would  be  simijarly  used 
to  emphasize  the  immutable  syllables  of  the  word  attack,  in 
the  strong  and  repeated  enforcement  of  the  assertion  of  the 


Expressive  Intonation.  241 

follovnng  sentences:   ''//  was  710  feint,  it  was  an  attack." 
"  I  t'll you  it  was  a  premeditated  attack." 

Dr.  Rush  illustrates  the  emphasis  of  the  discrete  intona- 
tion jpon  syllables  that  will  not  admit  of  the  wide  descent 
of  the  concrete  to  express  their  positive  affirmation  by  the 
following  notation,  in  which  the  words  Brutus  and  a?nbitious 
are  distinguished  by  the  radical  skip  downward : 


Yet 

Bru  - 

tus 

says 

he 

was 

am     - 

bi     - 

tious. 

m^ 

_^ 

^ 

_^ 

^ 

^ 

-/        - 

^ 

1^6.  In  Hamlet's  reply  to  his  mother's  question:  ^^  If  it 
be,'"  (if  death  be  the  common  lot)  "  Why  seems  it  so  partic- 
ular with  thee  1 "  Severe  and  dignified  conviction  is  to  be 
expi  essed  on  the  word  is  of  his  reply  :  ' '  Seems  Madam,  nay 
it  iij  /  know  not  seems.''  The  intonation  of  this  is  ex- 
hibi  ed  in  the  following  notation : 


SeeiQs  Ma -dam, 

nay, 

it 

is! 

I 

know 

not 

seems. 

-^                               1 

-J-¥-^ 

-g- 

\ 

^ 

_^ 

* 

•i      1 

But  the  lightness  of  the  surprise  expressed  in  the  simple 
radical  and  vanish  is  not  adequate  to  the  gravity  of  the 
repy;  therefore,  this  is  enhanced  in  the  utterance  by  the 
addition  of  the  swell  of  the  median  stress  on  the  descend- 
ing fifth. 

The  employment  of  the  expressive  intervals,  except  in 
the  case  of  the  third,  which  may  form  a  drift,  is  but  occa- 
sioi  al,  and  the  unaccented  syllables  and  unemphatic  words 
stil  conform  to  the  laws  of  the  diatonic  melody.  There 
ma  ^  be  a  succession  of  emphatic  intonations  constituting 

M.  E.— 21. 


242  Murdochs  Elocution. 

an  emphatic  phrase,  or  partial  drift,  but  the  general  current 
of  all  language  is  diatonic, —  the  melody  forming  the 
neutral  background,  as  it  were,  for  the  more  vivid  intona- 
tion. In  intonation  at  pauses,  where  the  downward  con- 
crete movement  is  introduced  for  emphasis,  preceding  a 
pause  of  close  connection,  the  emphatic  syllable  has  a 
change  of  radical  pitch  above  the  current  melody,  and  the 
concrete  does  not  descend  below.  This  movement  many 
persons  mistake  for  a  rising  inflection ;  thus,  in  the  follow- 
ing sentence,  where  the  word  queen  is  to  be  emphasized 
by  the  falling  third,  the  latter  would  lose  its  emphatic 
effect  if  employed  simply  as  a  feeble  cadence : 

"No,  by  the  rood  not  so; 
You  are  the  queen:  your  husband's  brother's  wife." 

The  difference  between  the  downward  emphatic  third 
and  the  feeble  cadence  is  this :  in  the  former,  the  voice, 
after  descending  on  the  interval,  instead  of  letting  go  of  the 
sound  immediately,  continues  it  on  the  organs  by  the  impli- 
cating movement  until  the  opening  of  the  following  sylla- 
ble, usually  on  a  higher  pitch. 

The  Semitone. 

177.  The  semitone  is  expressive  of  all  the  plaintive, 
pathetic  emotions, — grief,  distress,  sorrow,  tenderness,  com- 
passion, pity,  complaint.  It  may  be  introduced  into  the 
diatonic  melody  as  an  occasional  emphasis  on  single  words, 
or  it  may  continue  as  a  pathetic  drift  through  one  or  more 
sentences.  In  the  latter  case,  the  melody  becomes  chro- 
matic, proceeding  entirely  through  semitones.*     Where  the 


*  For  an  extended  treatment  of  the  chromatic  melody,  the  student 
is  referred  to  Dr.   Rush's  ''Philosophy  of  the  Voiced 


Expressive  Intonation.  243 

state  of  mind  requires  that  the  plaintive  expression  should 
prevail,  simply  place  the  semitone  on  all  accented  or  in- 
definite syllables,  and  the  unimportant  syllables  will  natur- 
ally or  sympathetically  fall  into  the  same  interval.  An" 
exanple  of  the  emphatic  use  of  the  semitone  may  be 
given  on  the  second  too  of  these  lines  from  the  soliloquy 
of  Hamlet : 

"O,   that  this  too,  too  solid  flesh  would  melt. 
Thaw  and  resolve  itself  into  a  dew." 

This  word,  as  repeated,  is  expressive  of  a  state  of 
pathetic  despondency. 

The  following  will  furnish  an  example  of  the  semitonic 
drift  in  which  this  pathetic  interval  should  mark  all  of  the 
important  syllables  in  the  expression  of  deep  sorrow: 

"  0  my  son  Absalom!  my  son,  'my  son  Absalom!  would  God  I 
had   died  for  thee,    O  Absalom,  my  son,    my  son!''^ 

T  le  student  should  review  and  practice  elementary  exer- 
ciser on  semitone.     See  ^69. 


Exercises  on  the  Expressive  Intervals. 

I  "8.  A  preparatory  exercise  of  the  tables  of  concrete 
and  discrete  intervals  on  the  elements  and  words,  as  in 
Chapter  VII,  will  render  the  organs  pliant  in  the  follow- 
ing examples : 

rising  concrete  octave. 

"Am  7  my  brother's  keeper?" 
^^  Give  Brutus  a  statue  with  his  ancestors  9'*'^ 

RISING    DISCRETE    OCTAVE. 
••Y)u  were  paid    to  fight   against    Alexander,   not  to  rail  2X  him." 


244  Murdoch's  Elocution. 

FALLING    CONCRETE    OCTAVE.  ft 

'■^  Awake!  arise!  or  be  forever  fallen!" 

The   mutable   syllable  wake  will  allow  only  the   falling 
concrete  fifth. 

FALLING    DISCRETE   OCTAVE. 
"  Pale,  trembling  coward!  there  I  throw  my  gage." 

RISING    CONCRETE    FIFTH. 
**  He  said  you  were  incomparable?^^ 

Hamlet. — Saw  who? 

Horatio. — My  Lord,  the  king,  your  father. 

Hamlet. — The  king,  my/a-ther? 

FALLING   CONCRETE    FIFTH. 
"The  Assyrian  came  down,  like  the  wolf  on  the  fold." 
*'/am  the  Resurrection  and  the  Life!" 
*'To  arms!  they  come!  the   Greek!  the   Greek!'''' 

In  the  above,  the  radical  pitch   of  the  first  Greek  is  a 
third  above  the  last. 

RISING   DISCRETE    FIFTH. 

"  Back  to  thy  punishment!  false  fugitive. 
And  to  thy  speed  add  wings." 

"Unhand  me,  gentlemen, 
By  heaven,  I'll  make  a  ghost  of  him  that  lets  me! 
I  say  away! — Go  on;    I'll  follow  thee!" 


Expressive  Intonation.  245- 

We  Kave  here  an  instance  of  the  emphatic  power  of 
change  in  radical  pitch  on  the  word  make, — it  is  lifted  at 
least  a  fifth  above  the  current  melody. 


F  VLLING    CONCRETE   THIRD,    FIFTH,    AND   OCTAVE. 
If  it  were  the  last  word  I  had  to  utter,  it  should  be  no!  no! ! 

RISING    AND    FALLING    DISCRETE    FIFTH. 

"Then  followed  with  a  desperate  leap, 
Y)o-wn  ffty  fathoms  to  the  deep." 

"Well,  honor  is  the  subject  of  my  story." 

RISING    CONCRETE   THIRD. 

'  But  this  effusion  of  such  manly  drops. 
This  shower  biozvn  up  by  tempest  of  the  soul, 
Startles  mine  eyes,  and  makes  me  more  amaz'd 
Than  had  I  seen  the  vaulty  top  of  heaven 
Figur'd  quite  o'er  with  burning  meteors." 


I  pray  thee,  put  into  yonder  port, 
For  I  fear  a  hurricane." 


DOWNWARD    CONCRETE   THIRD. 

"'Tis  well,  we'll  try  the  temper  of  your  heart." 

"Tell  him  my  answer  is  «<?." 

"I  an   amazed;  yes,  my  Lords,  I  am  amazed  at  his  Grace's  speech.' 


246  Murdoch's  Elocution. 


RISING    DISCRETE   THIRD. 

♦**Come  back,  come  back,   Horatius!' 
Loud  cried  the  fathers  all; 
•  Bcuk,  Lartius  !   back,  Herminius  I 
Back,  ere  the  ruin  fall !  " 

Ay!  sputter,  thou  roasting  apple, 

Spit  forth  thy  spleen!   'twill  ease  thy  heart." 


FALLING    DISCRETE   THIRD. 

**Is  it  not  monstrous  that  this  player  here, 
But  in  2l  fiction,   in  a  dream  of  passion." 

"Sink  or  swim,   live  or  die,  survive  or  perish, 
I  give  my  hand  and  my  heart  to  this  vote." 

"While  an  armed  foe  remained  in  my  country  I  would  «^v?r  lay 
down  my  arms !  " 

"Believest  thou  this?'^ 

The  word  this  descends  a  third  in  radical  pitch,  and 
rises  concretely. 

••Then  Bolingbroke,  as  low  as  to  thy  heart. 
Through  the  false  passage  of  thy  throat,  thou  liesty 

Heart  is  struck  a  third  above  the  current  melody,  and 
falls  a  concrete  fifth.  Liest  falls  a  third  in  radical  pitch, 
from  the  height  to  which  the  word  throat  carries  the  voice, 
and  sweeps  downward  through  a  falling  concrete  octave. 


Chapter  XX. 
Uses  of  the  Wave  in  Expression. 

17).  Concrete  intonation,  in  the  form  of  the  wave,  is 
one  of  the  most  impressive  elements  in  the  whole  range  of 
voca  expression.  Like  the  wider  interi^als,  it  serves  to 
give  expression  or  emphatic  distinction  to  words,  by  ex- 
tend ng  the  quantity  of  long  and  indefinite  syllables.  The 
wavt  is  simply  a  doubling  of  the  rising  concrete  into  the 
fallirg,  or  the  falling  into  the  rising.  As  the  last  constit- 
uent, however,  leaves  the  final  impression  on  the  ear,  its 
prevailing  color  of  expression  will  be  taken  from  the  direc- 
tion of  this  last  constituent.  If  it  be  upward,  the  effect 
will  be  suspensive,  interrogative,  or  sprightly;  if  down- 
wan,  y:  will  leave  the  reverse  impression  of  positiveness, 
wonder,  or  gravity. 

L  ke  the  simple  concretes,  the  expression  of  the  wave  is 
modified  and  intensified  by  the  application  of  stress  to  its 
couise,  and  by  the  qualities  of  aspiration  and  guttural 
vibrition. 

The  wave,  then,  according  to  its  form  and  other  modifi- 
cati  )ns,  expresses  variously  admiration^  surprise^  inquiry^ 
mirthful  wonder^  sneer ^  or  scorn. 

The  Single  Equal  Wave. 

i3o.  The  direct  wave  of  the  octave  is  expressive  of  the 
hig  lest  degree  of  astonishment,  admiration,  command,  and 
sin-ilar  states  of  mind,  if  executed  in  the  lower  ranges  of 

(^47) 


248  Murdochs  Elocution. 

pitch.  Carried  into  the  higher  ranges,  it  runs  into  falsetto, 
and  thence  loses  its  strongly  impressive  character,  becom- 
ing a  sign  of  undignified  mocking  and  jest. 

From  its  extreme  character,  the  first  form  of  the  octave 
is  seldom  employed,  except  as  a  sign  of  powerful  emotion, 
suddenly  struck  from  the  organs  by  some  amazing  situation 
or  circumstance,  as  in  the  case  of  Hamlet,  on  seeing  the 
ghost  of  his  father,  when  he  exclaims:  ^'■Angels  and  min- 
isters of  grace  defend  usf^ 

Here  the  doubting  astonishment  of  the  rising  octave  on 
the  first  syllable  ^s  overborne  by  the  positiveness  of  the  in- 
vocation, which  descends  on  the  falling  concrete,  making 
the  wave  of  the  octave  represented  in  the  following  nota- 
tion: 


An    -    gels 

and 

min 

-  is   - 

ters 

of      grace  de  - 

fend    us  ! 

{                               ^ 

1         -    -         -          ^  - 

A  \^ 

^.^ 

^^ 

^ 

^V^ 

•^^              '^ 

^    ^ 

^                                      ^  1 

I'he  direct  wave  of  the  fifth  is  similar  in  its  expressive 
effect  to  that  of  the  octave,  though  in  a  less  degree.  The 
emphasis  of  positive  and  vaunting  authority  to  be  expressed 
on  the  word  T/iy  in  the  following  speech  of  Death,  ad- 
dressed to  Satan,  from  ^^  Paradise  Lost,'^  would  take  this 
wave  for  its  proper  distinction : 


Hell-doom'd,  and  breathest  defiance  here  and  scorn. 
Where  I  reign  king,  and,  to  enrage  thee  more, 
Thy  king  and  lord  !  " 


I 


The  inverted  form  of  both  the  fifth  and  octave  are  ex- 
pressive of  scorn  ^nd  surprised  interrogation,  as  in  the 
following  examples: 


The  Wave  in  Expression.  249 

<'  Thou  wear  a  lion's  hide!   doff  it  for  shame!" 
^^  Burn  the  fleet,  and  ruin  France?" 

The  inverted  form  is  called  the  interrogative  wave. 
The  waves  of  the  fifth  and  octave  belong  almost  exclu- 
siveU  to  the  more  vivid  forms  of  colloquial  dialogue,  or  to 
the  ntensified  energy  of  the  drama  or  of  oratory.  The 
wavt  of  the  third  is  of  much  more  common  occurrence. 
It  is  usually  employed  to  mark  moderate  emphasis  requir- 
ing I  dignified  extension  in  quantity,  distinction,  and  an- 
tithesis when  used  in  the  lower  ranges  of  pitch.  In  the 
higher  ranges,  it  is  expressive  of  more  lightness  and  famil- 
iarit;^;  this  is  true  of  all  waves.  The  direct  wave  of  the 
thirc  is  heard  in  the  dignified  denial  of  the  following  words : 

'*  Nay,  not  so, 
When  God  is  with  our  righteous  cause." 

Tie  inverted  wave  becomes  emphatic  in  the  following 

sent  mce: 

*' upon  the  watery  plain 

The  wrecks  are  all  thy  deed." 

Ii.  the  lively  and  pointed  antithesis  of  Beatrice's  speech, 
we  find  an  instance  of  the  direct  and  inverted  wave  of 
the  third  also: 

"In  our  last  encounter, /<7Mr  of  his  five  wits  went  halting  ofiF; 
and  now  is  the  whole  man  governed  with  one.'''' 

V'hen  aspiration  is  added  to  either  the  direct  or  inverted 
forris  of  the  wider  waves,  it  produces  the  effect  of  scorrt 
or  i;ontempt,  in  addition  to  that  of  affirmation  or  inquiry. 
Fin  il  stress  intensifies  the  impressiveness  of  their  charac- 
ter. Median  stress  applied  at  the  juncture  of  the  constit- 
uents of  any  wave,  always  adds  the  force  of  dignity  to  its 
efre:t.  Waves  uttered  without  the  swell  of  the  median 
strtss  and  the  fullness  of  the  orotund,  give  a  strongly  sig- 
nifi  :ant,  but  familiar,  colloquial,  and,  if  uttered  with  short 
tim?,  flippant  character  to  the  words  they  distinguish. 


250  Murdoclis  Elocution. 


The  Wave  of  the  Second. 

181.  The  shorter  wave  of  the  second,  as  an  inexpressive 
distinction  of  words  in  the  plain  thoughtive  melody,  has 
been  described.  The  longer  wave  of  the  second  is  invari- 
ably combined  with  the  swell  of  the  median  stress.  It 
gives  a  dignity  and  solemnity  to  the  syllable  it  marks,  and 
naturally  accompanies  a  preponderance  of  the  phrase  of 
the  monotone  in  the  melody,   and  a  full  orotund  quality. 

The  wave  of  the  second  can  not  be  said  to  confer  more 
than  accentual  distinction  on  any  single  word,  but  used  on 
all  of  the  extendible  syllables  of  the  diatonic  melody,  it 
gives  to  the  otherwise  matter-of-fact,  and  tripping  character 
of  the  short,  and  generally  upward,  movements,  the  slow 
march  and  solemn  swell  of  gravity,  solemnity,  or  grandeur, 
thus  producing  what  may  be  called  the  Expressive  Diatonic 
Melody.  Unlike  the  waves  of  the  wider  intervals,  there  is 
but  little  difference  in  the  effect  of  its  direct  or  inverted 
forms.  It  is  the  only  form  of  the  wave  which  will  bear 
continuance  in  a  drift.  As  an  example  of  the  dignified 
solemnity  of  the  longer  wave  of  the  second,  combined  with 
a  prevailing  monotone,  low  pitch,  and  full  orotund  quality, 
we  have  the  following  notations  by  Dr.  Rush :  the  first,  a 
passage  from  the  church  service;  and  the  second,  from 
"■Paradise  Lost,'"  descriptive  of  the  fallen  angel's*  royal 
state : 


The     Lord   is         in         His       ho  -  ly 

tern  -  pie. 

Let 

^^  ^V  ^^  ^^  ^^%.  ^  ^ 

^^  A 

mM'       \ 

•^\ 

1 

ill       the        earth      keep      si     -     lence     be    -    fore     Him. 


The  Wave  in  Expression.  251 

iigh   on        a        throne  of         roy  -  al         state,   which  far 


Out  - 

shone  the 

wealth  of 

Or  -  mus 

and 

of 

Ind, 

^^ 

^T"^  ^ 

^      ..r 

^        flr 

m^ 

i< 

^^^! 

'•v     ^\^     ^        ^^^                                  ^         1 

Or        where  the     gor  -  geous   East,  with    rich  -  est         hand. 
Show  -  ers     on       her     kings  bar  -  bar  -  ic         pearl  and    gold, 


g^  ^  ^  ^  r\^  V-  , 


Sa  -   tan      ex   -    alt  -  ed       sat. 

^              mT    ^     m 

^    ^     «^    ^    •^.^       #v 

* 

^ 

1  hese  extracts  furnish  instances  of  the  purely  admirative 
or  reverentive  drift.  It  is  adapted  to  much  of  the  lan- 
guage of  Milton,  Shakespeare,  and  the  Bible,  in  reading 
vvhi:h  the  colloquial  character  of  the  thoughtive  diatonic 
woi.ld  be  too  familiar  in  its  effect,  and  the  wider  waves 
anc  intervals  incompatible  with  the  calm  though  elevated 
state  of  mind  to  be  expressed. 

The  equal  wave  of  the  semitone  simply  adds  the  effect 
of  time  to  the  plaintiveness  of  this  interval.  Its  effect 
differs  but  little  whether  direct  or  inverted.  The  semitone 
is  I  Imost  always  employed  under  this  form,  as  the  emotions 
it  t  xpresses  are  in  most  cases  inseparable  from  long  drawn 
qu;  ntity,  combined  usually  with  low  pitch  and  prevailing 
mcnotone.     The    dignified    supplication    of    penitence    im- 


252  MurdocJi  s  Elocution. 

plied   in   the   following  response   from  the  church  service 
would  be  given  with  this  wave: 

"And  thou,   O  Lord,  have  mercy  on  us  miserable  offenders." 

The  Unequal  Wave. 

182.  The  unequal  wave  has  been  described  as  a  continu- 
ation of  two  intervals  of  unequal  extent.  This,  like  the 
equal,  may  be  either  direct  or  inverted,  single  or  double; 
it  is  expressive  of  admiration,  wonder,  positiveness,  and  inter- 
rogation, in  different  degrees,  according  to  the  extent  of  its 
constituents  and  the  direction  of  the  last.  It  is  expressive 
of  scorn,  contempt,  irony,  ridicule,  etc.,  when  there  is  a  wide 
variation  in  the  constituents,  and  the  last  bears  the  final 
stress,  aspiration,  or  guttural  quality.  *  We  have  an  exam- 
ple of  the  unequal  wave  of  an  ascending  fifth  and  de- 
scending octave,  with  strong  aspiration  on  the  word  boy,  in 
the  contemptuous  reply  of  Coriolanus  to  the  Volscian  gen- 
eral who  cal^  him  a  ^' boy  of  tears." 

•♦  False  hound! 
If  you  have  v^^rit  your  annals  true,  'tis  there, 
That,  like  an  eagle  in  a  dove-cote,  I 
Flutter'd  your  Volscians  in  Corioli : 
Alone  I  did  W.—Boy!'' 

The  unequal  wave  of  a  rising  third  and  falling  fifth,  with 
strong  aspiration  or  guttural  vibration,  and  final  stress, 
will  give  the  sneering  expression  to  the  word  yea,  in  the 
following  lines : 

"From  this  day  forth 
I  '11  use  you  for  my  mirth,  yea,  for  my  laughter, 
When  you  are  waspish." 


The  unequal  inverted  wave  of   the  fifth  and  octave,  or 
of  the  third  and  fifth,  may  be  exhibited  on  the  word  your 


The    Wave  i7i  Expression.  253 

of  tie  sneering  question:  ''You  claim  him  for  your 
friend 2''  While  the  scorn  of  the  reply  may  be  expressed 
by  I  similar  direct  wave  with  aspiration  and  final 
stress:  "  Yes,  I  claim  him  for  my  friend.''  This  form  of 
the  vave  may  be  found  in  the  passionate  language  of  the 
dran^a,  or  of  oratorical  fervor,  and  in  what  Dr.  Rush  calls 
the  oolloquial  cant  of  the  voice ;  but  it  does  not  enter  into 
the   nore  grave  and  graceful  forms  of  speech. 

Tliere  is  a  form  of  the  unequal  wave  which  does  not 
con^  ey  the  expression  of  scorn  and  contempt :  it  is  that  in 
which  the  first  constituent  is  a  semitone,  and  the  second  a 
wider  falling  interval.  It  expresses  plaintive  or  querulous 
posi iveness,  surprise,  or  appeal,  as  in  the  lines:  '^You 
wrodg  me  every  tvay,  you  wrong  me  Brutus.''  A  similar 
movement  is  heard  in  the  child's  peevish  expression  of  de- 
tern  ination,  "/  won't!"  A  similar  unequal  inverted 
wave  of  the  wider  intervals  is  expressive  of  plaintive  inter- 
rogation, as  in  the  following  instance: 

"  Forlorn  of  thee, 
Whither  shall  I  betake  me,  where  subsist  ?  " 


The  Double  and  Continued  Waves. 

133.  The  double  and  continued  waves  always  require 
ind  ifinite  syllables.  They  naturally  grow  out  of  the  single 
fori  IS.  If  there  is  much  intensity  or  energy  in  the  utter- 
ance, which  tends  to  prolong  the  time  of  the  syllable,  the 
cor  Crete  must  continue  to  double  back  and  forward  upon 
itself,  while  the  sound  is  sustained,  otherwise  it  will  fall 
into  the  note  of  song. 

'  'he  double  or  continued  wave  may  be  illustrated  by  the 
act  on  of  the  ball,  which  returns  and  rebounds  again  from 
the  object  struck  through  the  force  of  its  first  impulse. 
Thi  wave  of  the  octave  is  rarely  extended  into  the  double 


2  54  Murdoch's  Elocution. 

or  continued  forms,  except  for  the  purposes  of  mocking 
and  exulting  laughter. 

A  double  direct  wave  of  the  third  may  be  given  on  the 
second  they  of  the  following  sentence:  **  They  tell  us  to  be 
moderate^  while  they  revel  in  profusion.''' 

Intense  scorn  is  expressed  in  both  the  equal  and  unequal 
double  wave  if  given  with  stress,  aspiration,  or  guttural 
vibration.  The  word  cringe,  in  the  following  scornful  lines, 
should  be  thus  distinguished : 

♦'  High  up  in  heaven,  with  songs  to  hymn  his  throne, 
And  practiced  distances  to  cringe,  not  fight." 

A  discrete  skip  downward  on  the  closing  immutable 
syllables  will  heighten  the  effect.  We  have  an  example  of 
the  expression  produced  by  radical  changes  in  pitch,  where 
the  language  forbids  the  use  of  the 'continuous  concrete 
wave,  in  the  following  example : 


Fit      bod  -  y       to     fit      head, 

Well     paired  with  all  thy     sins ! 

^                         ^ 

^           A                 ^ 

\            ^ 

f  y    ^ 

A                 A       A              A 

^^  '  *  ^4^^ 

^        ^  ^       ^ 

•V     •    V 

The  scornful  effect  is  produced  by  the  discrete  skips  of 
a  fifth,  called  the  discrete  imitation  of  the  concrete  wave 
of  a  fifth  in  the  second  notation. 

An  exact  knowledge  of  the  number  of  constituents  of 
the  continued  wave  is  by  no  means  necessary  to  their  prac- 
tical application.  It  is  enough  to  know  that  the  voice  is 
borne  along  the  doubling  flexures  by  the  intensification  of 
feeling. 

Examples  for  Practice  on  the  Wave. 

184.  Practice  elements  and  syllables  on  the  tables  of 
concrete  intervals  and  waves,   Chapter  VII. 


The  Wave  in  Expression.  255 


DIRECT  AND  INVERTED  WAVES  OF  THE  SECOND. 

^^  Roll  on ^xXvovi  deep  and  dark  blue  Ocean,  roll.' ^ 

**0k/  that  this  lo7/ely  vale  were  mine!" 

''Holy!  holy!  holy!   Lord  God  of  Sabaoth  ! "  • 

*' '  Nay  now^  my  child,'  said  Alice  the  nurse." 

'*  Farewell,  a  long  faretvell,  to  all  my  greatness.'" 

T  le  wave  of  the  second,  median  stress,  monotone,  and 
slow  movement,  may  be  observed  in  the  following  example 
fron    Milton  : 

"Thee,  Father,  first  they  sung,  immutable^ 
Immortal,   infinite.   Eternal  King." 

WAVE   OF    THE   SEMITONE. 

"O  judgment,  thou  art  fled  to  brutish  beasts, 
And  men  have  lost  their  reason! — Bear  with  me; 
My  heart  is  in  the  coffin  there  with   Citsar, 
And  I  must  pause  till  it  come  back  to  me." 

— '^ Julius  Ccesar,'"  Shakespeare. 

"Brutus  hath  riv'd  my  heart; 
A  friend  should  bear  his  friend's  infirmities. 
But  Brutus  makes  mine  greater  than  they  are." 

— '^ Julius  CcBsar,'"  Shakespeare, 

"Let  me  go  hence ^ 
And  in  some  cloister'' s  school  of  penitence, 
Across  those  stones,   that  pave  the  rvay  to  heaven. 
Walk  barefoot,   till  my  guilty  soul  be  shriven!'''' 

— Longfellow 


250  Murdoch! s  Elocution. 

DIRECT    AND    INVERTED    WAVE    OF    THE    THIRD. 

"I  come!  I  come!  ye  have  called  me  long.'''' 

"  Why,  cousin!      Whyy  Rosalind!     Cupid  have  mercy — not  a  word?'''' 
"Not  one  to  throw  at  a  dog." 

"A  man  is  likely  to  pass  his  time  but  ill  who  has  so  many 
different  parties  to  please." 

DIRECT   AND    INVERTED    WAVES   OF   THE    FIFTH. 

*^Away! — Away! — and  on  we  dash!" 

♦'  *  She  is  won !  we  are  gotre,  over  bank,  bush,  and  scaur, 

They'll  h.3.yt  Jleet  steeds  ihoX follow ;' <\\xo\.\i  young  Lochinvar. 

THE    UNEQUAL   WAVE. 

"National  pride,  the  independence  of  our  country.  These,  we 
are  told  by  the  minister,  are  vulgar  topics;  fitted  for  the  meridian 
of  the  mob;  but  utterly  unworthy  the  consideratiqn  of  the  noble 
Lord  who  condescends  to  instruct  it." 

"  Hadst  thou  alleged 
To  thy  deserted  host  this  cause  of  flight, 
Thou  surely  had'st  not  come  sole  fugitive." 

"From  this  day  forth, 
I'll  use  you  for  my  mii-th.''^ 

Baradas. — O,  my  Lord,   we  were  prompt 

To  avenge  you — we  were. 
Richelieu. —  We  ?     Ha  !   ha  !     You  hear, 

My  liege !     What  page,  man,  in  the  last  court  grammar, 
Made  you  a  plural? 

— "  Richelieu,'"  Bulwer-Lytton. 


The  Wave  in  Expression.  257 

Juliet's  language  in  soothing  her  nurse  employs  waves 
of  a  second  and  a  third.  The  nurse  uses  more  extended 
wave  >,  and  in  the  interrogatives  unequal  waves  are  used : 

Nurse, — Beshrew  your  heart,  for  sending  me  about, 

To  catch  my  death  with  jaunting  up  and  down ! 
Julie  \ — I'  faith,  I  am  sorry  that  thou  art  not  well  : 

Sweet,  sweet,  sweet  nurse,  tell  me,  what  says  my  love? 
Nursi. — Your  love  says  like  an  honest  gentleman, 

And  a  courteous,  and  a  kind,  and  a  handsome. 

And,  I  warrant,  a  virtuous: — Where  is  your  mother? 
Julie'. —  Where  is  my  mother? — why,  she  is  within; 

Where  should  she  be  ?     How  oddly  thou  reply'st ! 

Your  lave  says  like  an  honest  gentleman, — 

Where  is  your  mother  ? 

— ^^ Romeo  and  Juliet,''  SHAKESPEARE. 


DOUBLE  AND  CONTINUED  WAVES — Significant 

"  But,  sirrah,  henceforth 
Let  me  not  hear  you  speak  of  Mortimer. 
Send  me  your  prisoners  with  the  speediest  means, 
Or  you  shall  hear  in  such  a  kind  from  me 
As  will  displease  you." 

— ''Henry  /F,"  Shakespeare. 


Do  you  think  that  I  am  easier  to  be  played  on  than  a  pipe  ? 
Call   me   what   instrument   you    will,    though  you  can  fret  me, 
you  can  not  play  upon  me." 

''Hamlet,'"  Shakespeare. 


'♦O  upright  judge! — Mark,  Jew!  —  O  learned  ysA^t. 

A  Daniel^  still  say  I ;  a  second  Daniel ! — 

I  thank  thee,  Jew,  for  teaching  me  that  word." 

—"  Merchant  of  Venice,''  SHAKESPEARE. 

M.  E.-22. 


Chapter  XXI. 
Uses  of  the  Tremor  in  Expression. 

185.  The  tremor  has  already  been  described  as  one  of 
the  forms  of  intonation,  and  it  has  been  shown  that  it  may 
follow  the  course  of  all  the  intervals,  ascending  or  descend- 
ing, and  the  various  forms  of  the  wave. 

The  expressive  power  of  the  tremor  is  exhibited  in  the 
gayety  and  merriment  of  laughter,  and  in  the  pathetic  sounds 
of  crying.  In  the  first,  it  may  be  combined  with  all  of 
the  intervals  of  the  scale  except  the  semitone,  and  with  all 
of  the  waves  except  the  semitone.  The  abrupt  iterated 
jets  may  also  proceed  in  succession  upon  any  one  point  on 
the  scale. 

In  laughter,  the  rapid  tittelar  concretes  may  pass  through 
any  interval  but  that  of  the  semitone.  The  sprightliest 
and  most  varied  effect  of  laughter  is  that  in  which  the 
tremulous  progression  is  made  throughout  what  may  be 
called  a  tittelar  wave  (that  is,  the  tittles  following  the  line 
of  a  wave  of  the  smooth  concrete),  and  is  most  agreeable 
when  the  tittles  are  clear  and  evenly  accented,  and  follow 
each  other  in  close  and  rapid  succession.  Pure  laughter 
(unaccompanied  with  articulate  words)  is  performed  upon 
some  of  the  tonic  elements,  and  with  a  faint  addition  of 
the  aspirate  h ;  or  it  often  changes  in  the  course  of  its 
progress  from  one  tonic  sound  to  another,  or  from  a  short 
to  a  long  one. 

As  the  tremor  may  accompany  all  of  the  intervals  of  the 
scale  and  the  different  waves,  and  as  these  have  been 
(258) 


Use  of  Tremor  in  Expression.  259 


show  1  to  bear  different  kinds  and  degrees  of  expression  in 
themselves,  it  follows  that  this  movement  of  the  voice  may 
appei.r  under  other  modifications  than  those  of  simple  joy 
and  sorrow.  Thus,  laughter  may  express  the  passions 
of  scorn,  exultation,  triumph,  etc.  In  such  cases,  it 
derives  its  expression  not  only  from  the  direction  of  its 
tittles,  but  from  their  union  with  stress,  aspiration,  guttural 
vibration,  etc.  In  exultant  laughter,  they  would  follow  the 
cour;e  of  a  double  or  continued  wave.  In  scorn,  of  an 
unequal  wave  with  strong  aspiration,  etc.  Thus,  when 
Richelieu  baffles  the  conspirators  by  his  feigned  death,  he 
apos  rophizes  them  as  follows : 

"  Blood-hounds  !   I  laugh  at  ye,  ha,  ha,  ha,  we  will 
Baffle  them  yet,  ha,  ha !  " 

Here  the  tittles  of  the  laughter  indicated  by  ha,  ha,  ha, 
etc..  would  follow  the  winding  course  of  a  double  wave 
with  strong  force,  last  constituent  long  and  extending 
downward,  and  aspirated  at  the  close. 

Ill  crying,  the  tittelar  concretes  pass,  in  all  cases,  through 
the  interval  of  a  semitone,  and  may  be  carried  by  the 
tremulous  progression  through  all  the  wider  intervals  and 
wa\es.  The  most  plaintive  effect  of  crying,  however,  is 
thai  in  which  the  semitonic  tittles  are  united  with  the 
trei  lulous  progression  through  the  semitonic  interval  or 
wa^  e. 

1 1  hysterical  laughter,  the  voice  will  pass  rapidly  from 
the  wider  tittelar  concretes  which  constitute  laughter,  to 
thoje  of  the  semitone,  the  state  of  the  mind  being  irreg- 
ula  and  uncontrolled.  The  tremor  may  be  united  with 
the  words  of  articulate  language,  in  which  case  it  becomes 
on(  of  the  most  striking  elements  of  effect  in  speech. 
Co  nbined  with  the  wider  intervals,  or  their  waves,  and 
wit  h  stress  on  syllables,  it  joins  the  sentiment  of  mirth,  joy, 


26o  Murdoch's  Elocution. 

admiration^  exultation^  or  derision^  to  that  of  interrogation, 
surprise^  command^  scorn,  etc.,  while  it  heightens  the  effect 
of  the  grief,  supplication,  or  tenderness  of  the  plain  semi- 
tone. In  short,  the  tremor  serves  to  intensify  the  ex- 
pressive powers  of  all  of  the  other  vocal  elements  with 
which  it  is  combined.  Control  once  acquired  over  it,  it 
should  be  used  in  moderation,  as  it  is  the  accompaniment 
of  only  the  most  extreme  forms  of  emotional  expression, 
and  in  most  cases  is  suitable  only  to  the  highest  forms  of 
dramatic  utterance. 

If  the  tremor  be  given  with  a  wave  of  the  third  on  the 
word  noblest,  in  the  following  lines,  it  will  express  the  strong 
admiration  and  eulogy  the  sentence  is  meant  to   embody: 

"Thou  art  the  ruins  of  the  noblest  man 
That  ever  lived  in  the  tide  of  times." 

Tenderness,  combined  with  admiration,  would  be  ex- 
pressed by  combining  the  tremor  with  the  rising  third  on 
the  word  flower,  in  these  lines  from  Tennyson's  ^^  Lady 
Clare:'' 

"Why  come  you  dressed  like  a  village  maid, 
That  are  the  fower  of  the  earth?" 

The  laughing  tremor  will  give  the  chuckling  effect  to  the 
words  of  these  lines  of  Falstaff,  in  speaking  of  his  Ragged 
Regiment : 

**I'll  not  march  through  Coventry  with  them,  that's  flat; 
No  eye  halh  seen  such  scare-crows." 

United  with  the  semitone,  the  tremor  will  give  the  effect 
of  crying  on  the  words : 


O  my  son  Absalom,  my  son  Absalom, 
Would  God,  I  had  died  for  thee, 
Absalom,  my  son,  mv  son!^^ 


I 


Use  of  Tremor  in  Expression.  261 

In  mch  cases,  where  tears  seem  to  be  united  with  lan- 
guage the  tremor  always  accompanies  the  semitone.  It 
should  not,  however,  be  given  on  every  syllable,  but  only 
on  those  having  the  strongest  emphasis.  Being  so  striking 
an  eLiment  of  expression,  it  can  not  be  employed  as  a 
contirued  drift  without  producing  an  unpleasant  monotony. 


Exercises  for  Practice  on  the  Tremor. 

186.    Having    practiced    the    tremor    on    elements  and 

words   of  the   concrete   intervals   (see   Chapter   VII),  the 

student   must    make    his    voice   pHant   in   the   use   of  the 

wave;^   in  the  expression  of   the  following  sentiments,  and 
the  e  cercises  for  practice  of  the  tremor : 

tremor  in  joy  or  gayety. 

**  Sweety  sweet,  sweet,   0  Pan! 
Piercing  sweet  by  the  river! 
Blinding  sweet,  O  Great  God  Pan ! " 

**  When  I  look  from  my  window  at  night, 
.   And  the  welkin  above  is  all  white, 

All  throbbing  and  panting  with  stars, 

Among  them,  majestic,  is  standing 

Sandolphon,   the  angel,  expanding 

His  pinions  in  nebulous  bars.'''' 

** 'She's  painted  already,'  quoth  I; 

'  Nay,  nay ! '  said  the  laughing  Lisette, 
'  Now  none  of  your  joking,  but  try, 
And  paint  a  thorough  coquette.'" 


semitone  and  tremor. 

And  when  their  eyes  flashed,   0,  my  beautiful  eyes  I" 


262  Murdoch's  Elocution. 

"And  all  at  once  the  old  man  burst  in  sobs; 
I  have  been  to  blame, — to  blame,  I  have  killed  my  son 
I  have  killed  him,  but  I  Icrved  him,  my  dear  son  ! 
May  God  forgive  me !     I  have  been  to  blame. 
Kiss  me,  my  children." 

«*  *  They  are  lost,''  she  muttered,   '■boat  and  crew, 
Lord  forgive  me,  my  words  were  true.^^ 

'•  Pale,  patient  Robby's  angel  face, 
Still  in  his  sleep  bore  suffering's  trace. 
No,  for  a  thousand  crowns,  not  him." 


HIGH    PITCH    AND   TREMOR    AND    QUICK    MOVEMENT. 

"  Ah,  Juliet,  if  the  measure  of  thy  joy 
Be  heap'd  like  mine,  and  that  thy  skill  be  more 
To  blazon  it,   then  sweeten  with  thy  breath 
This  neighbor  air,  and  let  rich  music's  tongue 
Unfold  the  imagin'd  happiness  that  both 
Receive  in  either  by  this  dear  encounter." 

— ''Romeo  and  Juliet,'^  SHAKESPEARE. 

*'0,  joy!   thou  welcome  stranger,  twice  three  years 
I  have  not  felt  thy  vital  beam,   but  now 
It  warms  my  veins,  and  plays  about  my  heart; 
A  fiery  instinct  lifts  me  from  the  ground. 
And  I  could  mount." 

^''Revenge,''''  Dr.  Young. 

"Come;  let  us  to  the  castle. — 
News,   friends;  our  wars  are  done,   the  Turks  are  drown'd; 
How  does  my  old  acquaintance  of  this  isle  ? — 
Honey,  you  shall  be  well  desir'd  in  Cyprus, 
I  have  found  great  love  among  them.      0,  my  sweet, 
I  prattle  out  oi  fashion,  and  I  dote 
In  mine  own  comforts.'''' 

— "  Othello,^''  Shakespeare. 


Use  of  Tremor  ifi  Expression.  263 


Exercise  'in  Laughing. 

187.  It  is  very  difficult  to  acquire  a  perfect  imitation  of 
the  natural  laugh.  The  short  u,  in  up,  is  the  sound  most 
easiU  produced  by  the  abrupt  function  of  the  voice  which 
forms  the  tittles.  The  student  should,  therefore,  first  prac- 
tice on  this  element  in  low  pitch,  keeping  the  tittles  on  a 
level  line  until  he  has  acquired  the  natural  action,  thus : 
Huh,  huh,  huh,  huh,  huh,  huh.  Then  carry  the  tittles 
upwird  into  a  higher  pitch,  and  the  voice  will  naturally 
take  on  the  more  brilliant  sounds:  Ha,  ha,  ha,  hih,  hih, 
hih,  hoh,  hoh,  hoh,  etc.  Each  one  of  these  sounds  should 
be  c  ontinued  on  a  level  line  for  a  few  tittles ;  they  should 
ther  be  carried  up  and  down  in  every  form  of  interval 
and  wave.  There  should  be  no  effort  to  give  the  sound 
of  /,  as  it  will  naturally  accompany  the  energy  necessary 
to  the  creation  of  the  tittles. 

Laughter  rapidly  exhausts  the  lungs,  and  necessitates  a 
frequent  and  quick  supply  of  air.  In  the  language  of 
mirih  and  gayety,  laughter  is  often  introduced  between  the 
words,  as  in  the  following: 

^^  ^  Play  me  no  tricks,^  said  Lord  Ronald, 
'  For  I  am  yours  in  word  and  deed.^  " 

T  he  following  exercise  for  practice  of  tremor,  wave,  and 
lauihing  exercise  combined,  is  an  admirable  one  for  culti- 
vat  on  of  the  voice.  Practice  hurrah  with  upward  move- 
mejit  in  three  degrees  of  pitch,  through  wide  intervals  and 
doi  ble  waves ;  and  then  again  descending  in  radical  pitch 
throe  degrees,  with  falling  intervals  and  waves.  Let 
huir'dh  and  hurrah  be  practiced  in  the  same  manner. 

Hurrah  !     Hurrah ! 

Hurrah  !  Hurrah  ! 

Hu  rah !  Hurrah  ! 


Chapter  XXII. 
Interrogative  Intonation. 

i88.  The  wider  rising  intervals  of  pitch,  third,  fifth,  and 
octave,  concrete  and  discrete,  are  adapted  by  an  ordination 
of  nature  to  the  expression  of  inquiry  or  direct  interroga- 
tion. Emphasis  is  effected  by  an  occasional  use  of  these 
intervals  in  the  course  of  the  melody,  but  we  shall  find 
that  proper  interrogation  requires  them  on  every  syllable 
of  a  word,  phrase,  or  sentence,  in  which  case  they  form 
what  may  be  called,  when  extending  to  any  succession  of 
syllables,  the  melody  of  interrogation. 

Interrogative  intonation  may  be  applied  to  a  single  word, 
a  phrase,  or  a  sentence.  On  a  monosyllabic  word,  it  must 
be  expressed  by  the  concrete  form  of  interrogative  intona- 
tion; on  two  syllables  it  may  be  effected  by  a  rising  dis- 
crete movement,  and  in  the  melody  of  interrogation,  both 
interrogative  intervals  may  be  employed.  Inquiry  ex- 
pressed by  the  concrete  interrogative  interval  is  much  more 
impressive  than  by  the  discrete,  as  the  voice  seems  to  seiu 
hold  of  the  question,  as  it  were,  and  exert  a  greater  energy 
upon  it.  The  familiar  question  of  simple  inquiry,  ''Did 
you?"  will  receive  positive  interrogative  expression  by  ut- 
tering the  two  words  on  the  extremes  of  a  rising  third, 
fifth,  or  octave,  even  though  the  concrete  of  each  syllable 
passes  through  the  interval  of  but  a  rising  second. 

The  strongest  expression  of  inquiry  is  effected  by  the 
union  of  concrete  and  discrete  interrogative  intervals,  thus: 
utter  the  noun  con-duct  as  a  direct  inquiry, — conduct?  as  if 
(264) 


Interrogative  Intonation.  265 

the  vords  Did  you  say?  were  understood  before  it.  In  this 
case,  the  first  syllable,  being  of  extendible  quantity,  and 
bearing  the  accent,  will  rise  through  a  slow  concrete  of  a 
third  fifth,  or  octave,  while  the  immutable  and  unaccented 
syllal)le  duct  will  rise  in  radical  pitch  to  the  summit  line  of 
the  /anish  of  con,  and  thence  pass  upward  through  its 
rapid  concrete  of  perhaps  a  third. 

Tl  e  melody  of  strong  and  energetic  interrogation  is  well 
illustrated  by  the  notation  of  the  following  interrogative 
sentences,  in  which  the  rapid  concretes  are  indicated  by 
the  smaller  symbol. 

Gh'e      Bru  -  tus      a        stat   -   ue     with   his      an   -  ces  -  tors? 


JJJJJJ   ,/^ 


/ 


3y-  g 


The  sentence  has  been  uttered  as  a  command,  **  Give 
Bru 'us  a  statue  with  his  ancestors.  ^^  In  which  case,  every 
syllable  would  take  a  direct  downward  interval. 

Bit  the  command  creates  in  the  mind  of  the  hearer 
doubt  and  astonishment,  which  he  expresses  by  repeating 
the  words  with  a  directly  reversed  form  of  intonation, 
eveiy  syllable  rising  through  either  a  third,  fifth,  or  octave, 
acc(  rding  to  the  degree  of  earnestness  in  the  inquiry. 
Harilet's  astonished  repetition  of  Horatio's  words  would 
carry  the  concretes  through  the  same  intervals  as  those  of 
the  notation:    ''The  king,  my  father?" 

The  following  diagrams  give  two  forms  of  cadence  in 
the  interrogative  sentence.  The  first  ends  with  unaccented 
syll  ibles  passing  through  the  rapid  concretes  in  a  mono- 
ton(  ;  in  the  second,  the  last  word  is  emphatic,  and  with 
the  preceding  syllable  forms  a  tritone,  the  last  constituent 
of    vhich  is  a  rising  fifth. 

M.E.— 23. 


266 


Murdoch's  Elocution, 


He         said     you         were     in    -   com   -   pa    -    ra    -     ble? 


=F 

/    .  / 

-4 

=F=F: 

-/= 

• 

j^^ 

■^ 

W             • 

• 

Give      Fab    -    ius       a  tri    -   umph    for     his         de   -   lay? 


4    ,JJ    J J^^3E^ 


189.  The  familiar  sentence,  so  often  quoted,  is  here  em- 
ployed for  the  purpose  of  noting  the  emphatic  word,  and 
what  constitutes  the  emphasis  itself,  and  also  shows  how 
this  may  be  applied  to  the  thorough  interrogative  sentence: 
Do  you  ride  to  town  to-day  1  In  the  first  diagram,  the 
general  inquiry  is  expressed  through  a  melody  of  rising 
thirds,  every  word  bearing  the  same  emphasis.  If,  how- 
ever, the  question  refers  to  riding  or  walking,  ride  would 
require  to  be  made  emphatic  by  being  carried  through  a 
a  rising  concrete  third,  its  radical  falling  below  the  current 
diatonic  melody  of  the  rest  of  the  sentence,  as  in  the 
second  diagram;  if  the  inquiry  should  be  as  to  whether 
you  or  some  other  person  rode  to  town,  you  would  take  the 
same  movement;  should  the  question  be  as  to  destination 
or  time,  town  or  to-day  would  require  emphasis. 


Do 

you 

ride 

to 

town 

to      - 

day? 

J 

fl 

J 

J 

/ 

^ 

W 

w 

ft 

-V— 

Do 

you 

ride 

to 

town 

to      - 

day? 

^ 

^ 

^ 

^ 

W 

W 

-•r^ 

^ 

— rf^ 

Interrogative  Intonation.  267 

Questions  requiring  a  keen  and  penetrating  energy  usu- 
ally add  the  intensifying  effect  of  stress  to  the  interroga- 
tive intonation  of  their  emphatic  syllables. 

The  application  of  final  stress  particularly  enhances  the 
interrogative  energy  of  the  slow  concrete,  while  a  radical 
stress  increases  this  effect  on  the  immutable  syllables  of  a 
disc  rete  interrogative. 

I:'  a  syllable  of  short  quantity  be  emphatic  in  an  inter- 
rogative sentence,  it  will  descend  radically  to  a  third  or 
moie  below  the  previous  current  melody,  and  rise  through 
a  rapid  concrete  with  radical  stress,  the  unemphatic  sylla- 
ble;, continuing  on  the  upper  plane  as  before. 

190.  As  the  rising  third,  fifth,  and  octave  placed  on 
every  syllable  of  a  sentence  renders  that  sentence  inter- 
rogitive,  the  question  naturally  arises,  must  all  sentences 
wh  ch  have  the  interrogative  structure  be  thus  intonated  ? 
By  no  means.  When  every  syllable  of  a  question  takes  an 
int(;rrogative  interval,  it  is  said  to  have  the  Thorough  hiter- 
rogitive  Expression  or  Intonation.  When  the  syllables  of 
only  a  part  of  the  question  receive  the  interrogative  inter- 
vals, and  the  remaining  syllables  pass  through  the  plain 
declarative  melody,  it  is  said  to  have  the  Partial  Interroga- 
tive  Expression  or  Intonation. 

The  intonation  of  those  sentences  having  the  interroga- 
tiv  J  for?n,  but  demanding  the  downward  intonation,  does 
no  come  properly  under  the  head  of  interrogative  expres- 
sioi,  though  inseparable  from  a  study  of  interrogative  sen- 
tei  ces.  The  Grammatical  Structure  of  Questions,  and  the 
state  of  mind  or  purpose  they  are  intended  to  convey,  de- 
termine whether  they  shall  receive  the  Thorough  or  Partial 
E.  pression,  or  the  Downward  Intonation.  Interrogative 
sentences  appear  under  various  forms  of  grammatical  con- 
st! action.  The  following  are  some  leading  rules  concern- 
in;;  the  two  great  conditions  affecting  the  intonation  of 
in  errogative  sentences : 


268  MurdocJt  s  Elocution. 


Rule  I. 

igi.  When  an  interrogative  sefitence  has  the  assertive  or 
declarative  construction ^  it  generally  requires  the  thorough  ex- 
pression. 

The  declarative  sentence,  ''He  is  gone,"  if  repeated  in 
the  tone  of  an  inquiry,  is  equivalent  to  saying,  "Did  you 
say  he  is  gone  ?  "  In  fact,  all  assertive  questions  may  be 
regarded  as  elliptical,  having  some  such  interrogative 
phrase,  understood,  to  precede  them.  But  as  this  interrog- 
ative phrase  is  omitted  in  the  utterance,  there  is  no  means 
of  distinguishing  the  interrogative  from  the  declarative 
without  a  thorough  interrogative  intonation. 

A  wide  rising  interval  applied  exclusively  to  one,  or  to 
an  occasional,  syllable,  would  express  only  an  emphasis  (as 
formally  explained)  upon  the  syllables  so  distinguished. 


Examples  of  Questions  having  the  Assertive  Form. 

The  assertive  or  declaratory  question  is  shown  in  the 
following  passage  taken  from  Shakespeare, — the  scene  be- 
tween Coriolanus  and  the  servant  of  Aufidius : 

Servant. — Where  dwellest  thou  ? 
Coriolanus. — Under  the  canopy. 
Sefvant  {not  comprehending,  repeats  interrogatively)  Under  the  canopy 
Coriolanus. — Ay.  * 

Servant. — Where  's  that  ? 
Coriolanus. — In  the  city  of  kites  and  crows. 

Servant. — In  the  city  of  kites  and  crows? 

"You  say  a  people  is  only  sovereign-  when  freed  from  the  re- 
straints of  morals  and  law?" 


Interrogative  Intonation.  269 

'■^  Reach  the  mooring?     Rather  say, 
While  rock  stands,  or  water  runs. 
Not  a  ship  will  leave  the  bay !  " 

•    Rule  II. 

I()2.  The  common  question,  or  that  constructed  by  the  re- 
versid  position  of  the  nominative  and  verby  usually  takes 
thorough  expression. 

This  form  of  question  has  been  called  direct  from  the 
fact  that  it  may  always  be  answered  by  yes  or  no,  while 
those  beginning  with  adverbs  or  pronouns  have  been  called 
indi'^ect  because  they  can  not  be  answered  by  yes  or  no. 


Examples  of  Common  Questions  taking  Thorough  Ex- 
pression. 

'  Would  you  do  homage  in  the  most  agreeable  way?  Would 
you  render  the  most  acceptable  service  ?  Offer  unto  God  thank.«- 
giviig." 

"Have  you  forgot  me?" 

♦*  Has  some  saint  gone  up  to  heaven?" 

AVe  have  an  exception  to  the  above  rule  in  the  very 
moderate  form  of  question  which  becomes  partial, — as  in 
Ha  mlet's  inquiry : 

'•  Will,  you  play  upon  this  pipe  ?  " 

'This  pipe,  will  you  play  upon  it?"  This  may  bear 
tht  upward  movement  on  the  merely  verbal  form  of  inter- 
ro[ation,  ''Will  you  play?"  and  pipe  may  be  emphasized 
by  being  made  a  feeble  cadence.  Should  the  interrogation 
be  earnestly  increased,  it  would  demand  the  thorough  in- 


270  MurdocJi s  Elocution. 

tonation.     This  same   form   of  intonation  may  be  used  in 
the  simple  question:  "Can  we  have  the  flag?" 


Rule  III. 

193.  Adverbial  or  pronominal  questions  of  a  moderate  degree 
of  earnestness  require  only  the  partial  expression. 

In  the  adverbial  construction,  the  uncertainty  or  doubt 
constituting  the  question  does  not  generally  extend  to  the 
whole  of  the  sentence,  certain  facts  being  implied  as  ad- 
mitted or  understood,  the  doubt  existing  only  in  their  rela- 
tion to  certain  circumstances  of  agency,  person,  time, 
place,  manner,  etc.  Thus,  in  the  sentence,  "Where  has 
he  gone?"  the  fact  of  his  having  gone  is  not  the  point  of 
the  question,  but  the  direction  indicated  by  the  interrogative 
word  where  1  This  word,  then,  will  receive  the  interrogative 
expression,  while  the  remainder  of  the  sentence  will  pass 
through  the  diatonic  melody.  This  expression  is  not 
always  effected  by  a  direct  rising  interval. 

The  unequal  direct  wave  may  be  used  for  the  purpose 
of  interrogation  instead  of  the  simple  concrete,  and  is 
almost  invariably  employed  for  this  purpose.  In  the  inter- 
rogative words  of  adverbial  and  pronominal  question  in 
this  use  of  the  wave,  the  second  or  falling  constituent  is 
usually  shorter  than  the  rising,  and  marked  by  final 
pressure.  Sometimes  this  intonation  will  extend  to  all  the 
syllables  of  quantity  in  such  a  sentence,  if  uttered  with 
impressiveness  or  gravity. 

When  interrogative  sentences  contain  members  or  clauses 
embracing  an  address,  or  an  assertion,  or  expletives,  or  7'efer- 
ence  to  causes  modifying  the  leading  point  of  the  question, 
yet  not  properly  included  in  the  interrogation,  they  require 
the  partial  expression  only. 


Interrogative  Intonation.  271 


Examples. 

Interrogative  sentences  containing  an  address: 

'Why  with  some  little  train,  my  lord  of  Buckingham?" 
"Where  dwell  you,  pretty  youth?" 

Tlie  question  seems  to  end  at  train  and  you,  and  the 
remainder  of  the  sentence  should  therefore  have  the  purely 
diatcnic  melody  and  cadence. 

"Are  you  mad,   you  Malouins?" 

Hare  the  interrogative  ends  with  mad. 
C(  »ntaining  an  assertion  : 

"  ^^  hy  did  you  laugh  then,   when  I  said  man  delights  not  me?" 

" /j  this  the  place  that  you  spoke  of?" 

"  Talk  to  me  of  rocks  and  shoals?  me,  who  took   the  soundings,   tell 
On  my  fingers  every  bank,  every  shallow,  every  swell, 
'T\/ixt  the  offing  here  and  Greve,  where  the  river  disembogues  ?  " 

C(  intaining  an  expletive  : 

"JVhat's  Hecuba  to  hi?n,  or  he  to  Hecuba, 
That  he  should  weep  for  her?" 

C*  )ntaining  a  cause  : 

**lVhat  0/  his  heart  perceive  you  in  his  face. 
By  any  likelihood  he  showed  to-day?" 

Rule  IV. 

IC4.  When  two  or  more  questions  are  connected  by  the  dis- 
junc  Hve  conjunction  or,   and  thus  placed  in  opposition  to  each 


2/2  Murdoch's  Elocution. 

other;  or^  if  a  series  of  two  or  more  questions  be  thus  con- 
nected with  others  following^  by  the  same  conjunction,  the  first 
should  have  the  thorough,  and  the  second  the  partial  expression. 


Examples. 

The  question  put  by  Richard  to  Buckingham  is  of  this 
description : 

•  ♦  But  shall  we  wear  these  glories  for  a  day  ? 
Or,  shall  they  last  and  we  rejoice  in  them?" 

^^  Shall  we  in  your  person  crown  tJie  author  of  the  public  calamities, 
or  shall  we  destroy  him  ?  " 

'^^  Does  God,  after  having  made  his  creatures,  take  no  further  care  of 
them  ?  Has  lie  left  them  to  blind  fate  or  indirect  chance  ?  Or  does  he 
always  graciously  preserve  and  keep  and  guide  them  ? " 


Rule  V. 

195.  (i)  When  questions  of  a  moderate  degree  succeed  each 
other  in  series,  each  does  not  require  the  same  extent  in  inter- 
rogative expression  as  it  would  when  uttered  singly. 

(2)  Single  interrogative  sentences  of  great  length  and  moderate 
temper  also  require  only  the  partial  expression. 

The  reason  of  this  rule  is  probably  that  the  mind  of  the 
hearer,  becoming  so  *'in  the  humor  of  the  question,"  as 
Dr.  Rush  puts  it,  that  the  latter  is  sufficiently  indicated  by 
the  grammatical  form.  The  use  of  partial  intonation,  in 
such  cases,  obviates  the  monotony  of  a  succession  of  sim- 
ilar effects  which  would  arise  from  a  continuation  of  the 
thorough  expression. 


Interrogative  Intonation.  273 


Examples. 

Are  you  called  forth  from  out  a  world  of  men, 
To  slay  the  innocent  ?     What  is  my  offence  ? 
Where  is  the  evidence  that  doth  accuse  me  ? 
What  lawful  quest  have  given  their  verdict  up 
Unto  the  frowning  judge?  or  who  pronounced 
The  bitter  sentence  of  poor  Clarence's  death  ? ' 


"I.'ow  looked  he?  Wherein  went  he?  What  makes  he  here? 
Did  lie  ask  for  me?  Where  remains  he?  How  parted  he  with 
thee  ?  And  when  shalt  thou  see  him  again  ?  Answer  me  in  one 
word.  ' 


'  Can  splendid  robes,  or  beds  of  down. 
Or  costly  robes  that  deck  the  fair. 

Can  all  the  glories  of  a  crown 

Give  health,  or  soothe  the  brow  of  care?" 


•What  penny  hath  Rome  borne, 
What  men  provided,   what  munition  sent, 
To  underprop  this  action?     Is 't  not  I 
That  undergo  this  charge?" 


In  giving  the  preceding  rules  concerning  the  relations 
of  t  le  grammatical  structure  of  questions  to  the  form  of 
intoration,  the  temper  of  the  question  has  been  assumed 
to  b(  moderate,  or,  at  most,  earnest,  indicating  principally 
a  sta  :e  of  simple  inquiry.  But  inquiry,  as  formerly  stated, 
ofter  co-exists  with  the  passionative  states  of  the  mind. 
All  the  grammatical  forrris  of  a  question  may  then  be 
emp  oyed  with  the  additional  element  of  great  surprise,  in- 
dign  ition,  anger,  scorn,  etc.,  and,  as  such,  become  pro- 
portionally vehement. 


2  74  Murdoch'' s  Elocution. 

Vehemence  of  expression,  under  any  grammatical  struc- 
ture, and  with  a  number  of  questions  in  conjunction  or 
series,  very  generally  requires  the  thorough  intonation,  every 
accented  syllable  thus  becoming  more  or  less  emphatic, 
and  passing  through  the  intervals  of  the  fifth,  octave,  and 
wider  inverted  waves,  intensified  by  stress,  aspiration,  etc., 
according  to  the  kind  and  degree  of  the  passion.  From 
this  arises  the  following  important  rule : 


Rule  VI. 

196.  Where  questions  are  very  earnestly  or  very  vehemently 
made,  under  any  form  of  grammatical  construction,  or  where 
there  are  a  number  of  questions^  either  in  conjunction  or  series, 
they  should  generally  receive  the  thorough  expression. 


Examples. 

We  have  an  example  in  the  question  of  repulsive  indig. 
nation  in  Cleopatra's  reply  to  Caesar's  friend : 


•*  Know,  sir,   that  I 
Will  not  wait  pinioned  at  your  master's  court; 
Nor  once  be  chastised  with  the  sober  eye 
Of  dull  Octavia.     Shall  they  hoist  me  up. 
And  show  me  to  the  shouting  varletry 
Of  censuring  Rome?     Rather  a  ditch  in  Egypt 
Be  gentle  grave  unto  me !  " 


Terrified  surprise  is  expressed  in  the  question  of  Lady 
Macbeth  after  the  murder  of  Duncan : 


'Why  did  you  bring  the  daggers  from  the  place? 
They  must  lie  there." 


I 


Interrogative  Intonation.  275 

In  lEamlet's  violent  address  to  Laertes  at  the  grave  of 
Ophelia  we  have  a  series  of  vehement  questions : 

"Show  me  what  thou 'lit  .do: 
WoD't  weep?  woo't  fight?   woo't  fast?  woo't  tear  thyself? 
Woj't  drink  up  eisel?  eat  a  crocodile? 
I'll  do 't.     Dost  thou  come  here  to  whine? 
To  outface  me  with  leaping  in  her  grave?" 

This  example  has  been  given  before  to  illustrate  the  use 
of  the  discrete  intervals  in  dealing  with  short  quantities. 
A  striUng  contrast  is  here  exhibited  between  the  effect  of 
the  in  errogative  on  the  short  quantities,  weep^  fight,  fast, 
etc.,  aid  their  rapid  concretes,  and  the  power  of  the  voice 
on  the  long  quantity  tear,  which  would  rise  from  a  low 
plane  on  a  slow  concrete  of  a  wide  rising  interval  or 
wide  nverted  wave,  intensified  in  earnestness  by  final 
stress. 

Tho-ough  expression  is  effected  by  the  use  of  some  of 
the  wi  ier  intervals,  or  their  inverted  waves,  equal  and  un- 
equal, on  every  syllable  of  the  melody,  the  extent  of  the 
intervc'l  or  wave  varying  with  the  degree  of  earnestness  or 
vehemence,  and  according  to  the  same  degree  and  the 
peculii-r  kind  of  mental  excitement,  combined  with  stress, 
aspiration,  tremor,   etc. 

The  partial  expression  is  effected  by  the  use  of  occa- 
sional interrogative  intervals  or  phrases  in  the  course  of 
the  plan  melody,  usually  of  the  third  or  fifth,  or  their  un- 
equal direct  or  inverted  waves,  with  the  addition,  in  ex- 
treme earnestness,  of  final  or  median  stress.  (To  the  latter 
part  cf  the  rule  an  exception  exists  in  monosyllabic  ques- 
tions and  short  questions  having  the  assertive  form.) 
These  however,  may  receive  the  direct  unequal  wave  with 
final  ]  ressure  or  median  stress,  which  gives  the  dignity  of 
interr(  gative  expression. 


276  Murdoch's  Elocution, 


Grammatical  Questions  Requiring  the  Downward  In- 
tonation. 

197.  A  question  may  be  connected  in  the  mind  with 
such  a  vehement  desire  for  an  answer,  that  the  passionative 
state  of  command  shall  overbear  the  state  of  inquiry,  and 
impart  to  the  utterance  the  intonation  peculiar  to  the  for- 
mer, which  we  have  learned  is  positively  downward.  In 
such  cases,  the  interrogative  character  of  the  question  is 
indicated  only  by  the  grammatical  construction,  while  the 
intonation  expresses  a  demand  for  a  reply.  This  is  called 
the  imperative  question,  and  is  illustrated  in  the  following 
passage  from   ' '  Macbeth :  " 

Witches. — Seek  to  know  no  more. 
Macbeth. — I  will  be  satisfied :  deny  me  this, 

And  an  eternal  curse  fall  on  you !     Let  me  know 
Why  sinks  that  cauldron  ?  and  what  noise  is  this  ? 

Macbeth's  mental  condition  of  angry  command  is  exhib- 
ited  in  the  imperative  ''Let  me  know,"  and  the  same  im- 
perative force  overrules  the  ordinary  expression  of  inquiry 
which  would  accompany  such  questions,  driving  the  voice 
through  the  down-sweeping  movements  of  command  on  all 
the  syllables  of  quantity.  The  imperative  question  is 
often  exhibited  in  the  angry  inquiry  of  a  superior  to  an 
obdurate  culprit,  concerning  his  offense;  as, 

Why  did  you  do  it  ?  Where  have  you  been  ?  What  have  you 
been  doing  ?     Who  says  this  ? 

Grammatical  questions  may  be  employed  as  a  figure  of 
speech  to  convey  a  positive  state  of  mind,  such  as  convic- 
tion or  belief  in  the  negative  of  the  point  of  inquiry.  In 
such  questions,  there  is  a  positive  expectation  in  the  mind 
of  the  interrogator  of  acquiescence  in  this  conviction  on 


Interrogative  Intonation.  277 

the  pirt  of  the  person  or  persons  addressed,  and  this  assur- 
ance, exactly  the  reverse  of  the  doubt  of  inquiry,  is  natur- 
ally expressed  by  the  use  of  the  downward  intonation.  In 
such  questions  there  is  no  real  inquiry,  although  made  in 
the  grammatical  form;  but  by  them  the  hearer  is  much 
more  likely  to  be  led,  through  the  appeal  to  his  opinion,  to 
an  acquiescence  in  the  negative  of  the  question,  than  if 
the  speaker's  belief  in  it  had  been  made  in  the  declarative 
form.  Questions  coming  under  this  head  may  be  called 
appccling  questions,  as  an  appeal  is  always  made  with  a 
confident  expectation  of  a  favorable  decision,  and  is,  there- 
fore, positive  or  confident  in  its  expression,  though  defer- 
ential or  non-assertive  in  its  verbal  form.  We  have  an 
example  of  such  a  question  in  Brutus's  appeal  to  the  gods 
in  thi  following  lines  from   ^'■Julius  Ccesar:^^ 

"Judge  me,  you  gods!      Wrong  I  mine  enemies? 
And,  if  not  so,  how  should  I  ivrong  my  brother?''^ 

The  questions  marked  should  take  either  wide  downward 
concietes,  or  if  desiring  to  express  less  of  confidence  in 
the  decision,  the  unequal  direct  waves  of  a  rising  third  and 
falHnj  fifth,  as  a  sort  of  compromise  between  deference 
and  assurance,  the  first  expressing  some  doubt,  and  the 
secoi  d  certainty.  We  have  a  similar  instance  of  the  ap- 
peali  ig  question  in  Antony's  oration  over  Caesar : 

"He  hath  brought  many  captives  home  to  Rome, 
Whose  ransoms  did  the  general  coffers  fill : 
Did  this  in  CcBsar  seem  ambitious  ?'''' 


Alio 


You  all  did  see,   that  qn  the  Lupercal 

I  thrice  presented  him  a  kingly  crown, 

Which  he  did  thrice  refuse.      Was  this  ambition  ?  " 


2"]^  Murdoch's  Elocution, 

The  desire  on  the  part  of  Antony  being  to  establish  the 
conviction  that  Caesar  was  not  ambitious. 

These  questions  may  be  intonated  in  either  of  the  ways 
described  in  the  preceding  instance.  The  form  of  the  un- 
equal wave,  for  obvious  reasons,  is  more  persuasive  in  its 
character  than  the  direct  downward  movements. 

The  question  of  the  language  quoted  may  be  given  with 
the  interrogative  intonation  of  doubt,  or  with  the  rising  in- 
terrogation of  the  wide  inverted  wave,  but  neither  of  these 
would  effect  the  intended  result  of  the  wily  orator,  or 
follow  the  evident  intent  of  the  author  in  so  placing  them. 

Negative  questions,  which  imply  an  appeal  for  confirma- 
tion of  a  belief  in  the  reverse  of  the  point  of  inquiry,  or 
in  the  affirmation  of  the  question,  belong  properly  in  this 
connection.  These,  however,  can  not  be  strictly  called 
figurative  questions,  thus:  "Is  it  not  too  bad!"  "Is  it 
not  monstrous ! "  meaning  in  both  cases  that  it  is  so. 
From  the  preceding  we  have  the  following  rule : 

Rule. 

198.  All  imperative  questions,  and  all  figurative  questions, 
or  questions  of  appeal,  require  the  downward  intonation 
throughout,  either  in  the  form  of  the  direct  downivard  con- 
cretes, or  of  the  direct  unequal  waves,  having  second  constitu- 
ent longer  than  first,  usually  with  final,  thorough,  or  median 
stress. 

Examples    for     Practice    in     Questions     Demanding 
Downward  Intonation. 

imperative. 

^^Tell  me,   thou  fellow,   is  not  France  forsworn?" 

Douglas's  haughty,  imperative  speech,  loses  much  of  its 
force  and  dignity  if  given  with  the  rising  movements  of 


I 


Interrogative  Intonation.  279 

th£  ^oice.  The  positive  state  of  his  mind  overrules  the 
interrogative  character  of  the  sentence,  and  demands  the 
down  sweep  of  the  voice,  combined  with  high  pitch,  in- 
crease of  force,   and  final  stress. 

"And  dar'st  thou,   then, 
To  beard  the  lion  in  his  den, 
The  Douglas  in  his  hall  ? 
And  hop'st  thou  hence  unscathed  to  go? 
No !   by  Saint  Bride  of  Bothwell,  no !  " 

**  Soars  thy  presumption,    then,   so  high. 
Because  a  wretched  kern  ye  slew. 
Homage  to  name  to  Roderick  Dhu?" 

APPEALING    QUESTONS. 

**Is  this  a  time  to  be  gloomy  and  sad, 
When  our  mother  Nature  laughs  around. 
When  even  the  deep  blue  heavens  look  glad, 
And  gladness  breathes  from  the  blossoming  ground  ?  " 

"  Jut  can  we  believe  that  a  thinking  being,  which  is  in  per- 
petual progress  of  improvement,  and  traveling  on  from  perfection 
to  perfection,  after  having  just  looked  abroad  into  the  works  of  its 
Creaior,  and  made  a  few  discoveries  of  His  infinite  goodness,  wis- 
dom, and  power,  must  perish  at  her  first  setting  out,  and  in  the  very 
begii  ning  of  her  inquiries?" 

"  [  put  it  to  your  oaths:  do  you  think  that  a  blessing  of  that 
kind  —that  a  victory,  obtained  by  justice  over  bigotry  and  oppres- 
sion, should  have  a  stigma  cast  upon  it  by  an  ignominious  sentence 
upor   men  bold  and  honest  enough  to  propose  that  measure?" 


NEGATIVE    QUESTIONS. 

'Art  thou  a  friend  to  Roderick?'     'No.' 

*  Thou  dar'st  not  call  thyself  a  foe  ? ' 

*  I  dare !  to  him  and  all  the  band 

He  brings  to  aid  his  murderous  hand.' 


28o 


Murdoch's  Elocution. 


Have  I  not  hideous  death  within  my  view, 

Retaining  but  a  quantity  of  life, 

Which  bleeds  away,  even  as  a  form  of  wax 

Resolveth  from  his  figure  ''gainst  the  fire  ? 

What  in  the  world  should  make  me  now  deceive, 

Since  I  must  lose  the  use  of  all  deceit? 

Why  should  I  then  be  false;  since  it  is  true 

That  I  must  die  here,  and  live  hence  by  truth?" 

"Ay,  his  breast: 
So  says  the  bond; — doth  it  not,  noble  judge? 
Nearest  his  heart,   those  are  the  very  words." 

**Now,  my  co-mates,   and  brothers  in  exile, 
Hath  not  old  custom  made  this  life  more  sweet 
Than  that  of  painted  pomp  ?     Are  not  these  woods 
More  free  from  peril  than  the  envious  court?" 


Chapter  XXIII. 

Expressive  Melody ;   Sentential  Pitch ;    Transition  in  Pitch. 

i()9.  All  movements  of  pitch  which  carry  the  voice 
either  concretely  or  discretely  beyond  the  plain  second, 
concrete  and  radical,  of  the  diatonic  melody  of  passionless 
thoi  ght,  form  what  are  called  expressive  or  emphatic  phrases. 
These  may  be  occasional,  or  they  may  prevail  throughout 
a  pc  ssage  or  sentence,  and  extend  the  cadence  at  the  close 
either  into  the  wider  intervals  or  waves.  But  the  voice 
is  constantly  recurring  to  the  plain  diatonic  melody  on 
phrases  or  passages  of  less  eagerness  or  excitement,  and 
on  he  unaccented  syllables  and  unemphatic  words,  for  it  is 
this  melody  against  which  the  wider  and  more  vivid  into- 
nations are  thrown  into  relief. 

The  following  notated  passage  from  '■^Paradise  Lost,*' 
des  :riptive  of  Abdiel's  encounter  with  Satan,  furnishes  an 
exanple  of  the  introduction  of  the  wider  intervals  into  the 
diaonic  current  for  the  purpose  of  emphasis  or  expression. 
The  language  is  notated  to  express  the  energy  of  the  action 
it  describes,  hence  the  frequent  use  of  the  alternate  phrase. 


So 

say 

-  ing,    a         no    - 

ble     stroke  he 

lift 

•    ed      high, 

^ 

\  • 

^     ^ 

^   ^  ^ 

^ 

A        ^ 

\^               ^ 

■■■■-'"■'  W 

^ 

^k        ^ 

\A  hich   hung   not, 

but      so 

swift     with  tern  -  pest 

fell 

tf       %         W 

¥  ^ 

W        •       %       % 

^ 

If     'V    ^  - 

M.  E.— 24.  (281) 


« 


282  Murdoclis  Elocution. 

On        the     proud     crest    of        Sa  -   tan,        that      no       sight, 


Nor     mo   -   tion       of       swift  thought,  less    could    his      shield, 


-^ — < 

■^ 

—4- 

A 

1^      ^ 

^ 

i^ 

•^ 

^-.      i 

^ 

Such     ru 

in 

in     - 

ter    - 

cept. 

^ 

^ 

W 

^     dTN      -      ^       ^       ^ 

^» 

Wider  intervals  on  the  emphatic  words  may  be  em- 
ployed according  to  the  taste  and  the  conception  of  the 
reader  as  to  the  requisite  degree  of  expressive  energy. 

200.  The  wider  intervals,  especially  the  fifth  and  octave, 
with  their  waves,  and  the  semitone,  are  the  most  striking 
constituents  of  the  voice,  and  are  employed  to  express 
only  the  most  intensified  and  energetic  states  of  the  mind; 
these  states  being  the  exception,  instead  of  the  rule,  the 
remarkable  effect  of  their  signs,  unduly  repeated,  produce 
a  monotony  at  once  unnatural  and  offensive  to  the  ear. 
They  should  not  be  introduced,  therefore,  into  the  current 
of  speech,  without  just  grounds  in  the  character  of  the  lan- 
guage. "The  ear,"  says  Rush,  "has  its  green  as  well  as 
the  eye,"  and,  therefore,  rests  upon  and  returns  with 
pleasure  to  the  plain  diatonic  utterance  of  language. 

"  He  who  is  constantly  dealing  out  his  thirds,  fifths,  octaves, 
and  semitones,"  adds  Rush,  "allows  no  repose  to  the  ear,  and 
when  real  cause  for  expression  comes,  both  the  ear  and  mind  are 
unable  to  perceive  their  real  meaning;  while  upon  the  vocal  level, 
so  to  speak,  of  the  diatonic  ground,  the  expressive  intervals  properly 
employed  come  with  all  the  pleasing  and  natural  effect  of  variety 
and  contrast." 


Sentential  Pitch.  283 

Exaggeration  of  feeling  which  elevates  small  matters  to 
emfhatic  importance,  often  leads,  in  the  ordinary  uses  of 
the  voice,  to  an  indiscriminating  employment  of  its  constit- 
uen;s  of  thought  and  expression. 

The  wider  intonations  naturally  combine,  for  the  full 
sum  of  expressive  effect,  with  appropriate  degrees  and 
varieties  of  force,   time,  and  quality. 

Ihe  simple  diatonic  melody  which  links  the  expressive 
intc  nations  together,  although  it  can  not  be  said  to  have 
whet  has  been  strictly  termed  expression  in  itself,  as  a 
mode  of  pitch  will  always  receive  a  general  coloring  of  ex- 
pression by  adopting  the  prevaihng  quality,  time,  and  force 
(though  in  a  lesser  degree)  of  the  expressive  parts  of  the 
melody,  thus  receiving  a  shade  of  the  color  of  expression 
giv  m  to  any  succession  of  language  by  the  expressive  ele- 
me  Its  which  enter  into  its  utterance. 

In  fine,  the  current  diatonic  melody  of  speech  is  the 
gol  ien  thread  of  utterance,  upon  which  are  hung  the  glit- 
tering  gems  of  the  imagination,  the  golden  beads  of  feel- 
ing or  the  pearls  of  energized  truth,  as  expressed  in  the 
higiier  intervals  and  waves  and  their  attendant  vocal  ele- 
me  Its. 

'^he  melody  of  language  does  not  always  flow  by  an  un- 
interrupted succession  of  phrases  between  periods,  but 
fre  juently  the  intensity  of  excitement  attending  passion- 
ati  'e  utterance  causes  an  exhaustion  of  breath ;  the  subse- 
qu  mt  act  of  refilling  the  lungs  produces  the  longer  pauses 
of  what  is  termed  the  Broken  Melody,  and  exists  only  in 
larguage  of  the  most  passionative  character. 


Sentential  Pitch. 

loi.   In  our  study  of  the  expressive  or  significant  char- 
ac  er    of   pitch,    the   attention    has    been    thus    far    chiefly 


284  MurdocJi  s  Elocution. 

directed  to  the  individual  concretes  and  their  relation  to 
each  other  in  the  successions  of  melody. 

But  all  melody  derives  a  certain  expression  over  and 
above  that  arising  from  its  individual  constituents  of  con- 
crete and  discrete  intervals,  from  its  general  pitchy  or  that 
particular  range  of  the  compass  through  which  those  inter- 
vals are  varied.  This  may  be  called  the  Sentential  Pitchy 
as  describing  the  general  position  in  the  scale  of  whole 
sentences  or  groups  of.  words. 

When  the  character  of  the  thought,  sentiment  or  passion 
continues  the  same,  there  will  be  a  prevailing  note  or  de- 
gree of  the  scale,  above  and  below  which  the  radicals  of 
the  melody  will  rise  or  fall,  and  to  which  they  will  fre- 
quently return,  the  latter  thus  progressing  within  a  certain 
range  or  limit.*  The  voice,  however,  following  the  varia- 
tions of  thought  and  passion,  is  continually  changing  the 
melody  from  one  range  of  pitch  to  another.  This  change 
is  called  Transition. 


Transition  in  Pitch. 


■ 


202.  Transitions  are  generally  made  for  one  of  the  three 
causes  following : 

1.  To  mark  a  change  in  the  sentiment  or  passion. 

2.  To  mark  a  change  in  the  train  of  thought,  and 

3.  To  mark  an  introduced  or  parenthetical  idea. 
Transition  from  one  range  of   pitch  to  another  may  be 

made  proximately  through  the  entire  compass,  or  it  may  be 
made  from  one  part  of  the  scale  to  another,  more  remote, 
by  a  discrete  change.  Wide  and  sudden  transitions  should 
only  mark  the  language  of  extreme  passion,   in  which  the 


"*This  prevailing  note  has  some  similarity  to  the  key-note  of 
music,  but  not  sufficient  to  warrant  the  employment  of  the  term 
key  in  speech. 


Transition  in  Pitch.  285 

state;>  of  mind  are  apt  to  pass  suddenly  from  one  extreme 
to  aiother;  or  in  that  of  facetious  humor,  expressive  of 
the  c[uaint  contrasts  of  widely  differing  thoughts  or  impres- 
sions. 

The  effect  of  wide  transitions  quickly  made  is  always 
that  of  a  sudden  surprise  or  shock  to  the  hearer.-  They 
become,  therefore,  one  of  the  most  striking  elements  of 
vocal  effect,  and  are  especially  adapted  to  the  strongest, 
dramatic  expression.  Lesser  transitions  in  pitch  produce 
the  (jffect  of  a  change  sufficient  to  indicate  the  mental  tran- 
sition from  one  state  to  another. more  nearly  related,  and 
also  to  afford  an  agreeable  variety  by  avoiding  the  mo- 
notony of  a  continuation  of  the  same  sentential  pitch. 

T  le  following  notation  furnishes  an  example  of  the  less 
striking  effect  of  a  temperate  and  moderate  transition,  as 
well  as  of  the  adaptation  of  the  general  pitch  to  the  senti- 
ment to  be  expressed.  If  the  notation  were  intended  to 
indicate  the  full  expression  of  the  passage,  it  would  require 
freq  lent  waves  to  express  the  long  quantities,  but  it  is  no- 
tated  simply  to  illustrate  the  point  under  consideration  of 
transition  and  sentential  pitch. 

Tie  figures  marking  the  sentences  correspond  with  those 
at  the  side  of  the  staff,  and  indicate  the  transition  in 
pitc  1 : 


4  ^'he  moon  her  -  self    is      lost     in  heav'n  ;  6  but  thou  art    for- 

9 


^/'   .-^   ^ 

f — - 

--»f-^ 

^  nf  ^  ^  ^  ^^  ^  * 

V  -  er     the   same,  8  re  -  joi  -  cing  in     the  brightness  of  thy  course. 


286 


Murdoch ' s  Elocution. 


2  When  the    world  is     dark  with  tempests,  4  when  thunders  roll, 


,  ^    ^    ^     ^^\ 


and  lightnings  fly,  6  thou  look'st  in  thy   beau  -  ty  from  the  clouds. 


^  W   ^  ^  ¥   ^  ^  9f   ^ 


^  ^  ¥  ^ 


and  laugh'st  at  the  storm,  2  But  to    Os-sian  thou  look'st  in  vain. 


203.  Of  the  wide  and  sudden  transitions  of  passionative 
expression,  the  following  lines  from  the  potion  scene  of 
"■Romeo  and  Juliet''  furnish  a  striking  example: 


**0!  if  I  wake,  shall  I  not  be  distraught. 
Environed  with  all  these  hideous  fears? 
And  madly  play  with  my  forefathers'  joints? 
And  pluck  the  mangled  Tybalt  from  his  shroud  ? 
And,  in  this  rage,  with  some  great  kinsman's  bone, 
As  with  a  club,  dash  out  my  desperate  brains? 
O,  look !  methinks  I  see  my  cousin's  ghost 
Seeking  out  Romeo." 

After  concluding  the  terrible  picture  of  the  horrors  of 
the  tomb  on  the  words  ''dash  out  my  desperate  brains," 
the  disordered  imagination  of  Juliet  suddenly  seems  to  see 
the  ghost  of  Tybalt.  From  a  wide  falling  interval,  or 
extended  form  of  the  feeble  cadence  on  brains^  the  voice, 
following  the  sudden  emotion  of  fright  and  terror,  makes 
an  upward  transition  or  leap  of  a  full  fifth  or  octave  on  (7, 


Transition   in   Pitch.  287 


look   and  the  melody  continues  at  or  near  that  height  to  the 
end  of  the  sentence. 

/\n  example  of  a  striking  transition  to  a  lower  pitch  is 
exh  bited  in  the  following  passage  from  '•'Richelieu,'"  em- 
bodying at  once  the  prelate's  solemn  warning  and  bold 
defiince  of  Baradas  in  placing  Julie  under  the  protection 
of  the  church : 


"Around  her  form  I  draw 
The  awful  circle  of  our  solemn  church  ! 
Set  but  a  foot  within  that  holy  ground, 
And  on  thy  head — yea,   though  it  wore  a  crown — 
I  launch  the  curse  of  Rome ! " 


Here  the  words  solemn  church  should  be  read  in  a  low 
pitch,  the  solemnity  increased  by  prevailing  monotone. 
Frcm  this  the  voice  rises  to  a  higher  range  in  the  bold  and 
rinj;ing  expression  of  the  defiance  hurled,  as  it  were,  in 
the  name  of  the  church,  continuing  at  this  height  until  the 
woi  d  curse :  this  should  be  struck  at  the  highest  discrete 
pit(  h,  and  descends  a  fifth  concretely,  with  aspirated 
ore  :und  quality  and  concentrated  force ;  the  .voice  falls  dis- 
cre;ely  at  least  a  fifth  on  the  words  of  Rome,  the  latter 
bei  ig  given  with  a  wave  and  the  median  swell. 

^04.  The  effect  of  transition  in  pitch  is  generally  height- 
ent  d  by  a  change,  also,  in : 

].  The  Force. 

: .  The  Rate  of  Utterance. 

; .  The  Phrases  of  Melody. 

A  temperate  transition  effected  by  these  several  agencies 
she  uld  always  mark  those  parts  of  reading  or  discourse 
where  a  reader  enters  on  a  new  train  of  thought.  Such 
paits  are  generally  divided  to  the  eye  by  paragraphs,  and 
sh(  uld  l^e  as  clearly  marked  to  the  ear.  The  voice  indi- 
catis  a  change  in  either  the  subject  or  its  treatment. 


288  Murdoch' s  Elocution. 

The  change  should  generally  be  to  a  lower  pitch,  unless 
the  expression  demands  a  higher,  or  that  of  the  preceding 
paragraph  terminates  very  low.  This  rule  for  transition  at 
a  fresh  train  of  ideas  is  most  applicable  to  narrative,  de- 
scriptive, or  less  impassioned  reading,  and  to  public  speak- 
ing, and  is  to  avoid  the  monotony  so  common  to  both  of 
keeping  the  voice  on  one  continuous  line.  A  reader  or 
speaker  should,  in  ordinary  speaking  or  reading,  pitch  the 
voice  a  little  lower  than  the  middle  note   in   starting   out. 

205.  In  the  following  example,  the  whole  of  the  first 
section  should  be  read  with  about  the  same  pitch,  quality, 
and  rate  as  that  used  in  conversation,  but  with  more  force. 
The  second  section  should  begin  about  a  radical  third 
lower,  with  monotone  and  a  slower  movement.  Upon  the 
third  line,  the  voice  should  rise  somewhat  higher  in  pitch, 
with  some  increase  of  rate;  while  upon  the  fourth,  it 
should  be  still  louder,  higher,  and  more  rapid,  especially 
upon  the  last  four  lines.  The  voice  should  again  fall  in 
pitch  upon  the  commencement  of  the  next  section,  and 
should  be  slow  in  movement,  with  a  prevalence  of  mono- 
tone. 

"At  midnight,  in  his  guarded  tent, 
The  Turk  was  dreaming  of  the  hour  ^ 

When  Greece,  her  knee  in  suppliance  bent, 
Should  tremble  at  his  power; 
In  dreams,   thro'  camp  and  court,   he  bore 
The  trophies  of  a  conqueror; 
In  dreams  his  song  of  triumph  heard ; 
Then  wore  his  monarch's  signet  ring, 
Then  pressed  that  monarch's  throne — a  king;         • 
As  wild  his  thoughts,  and  gay  of  wing,  ^.: 

As  Eden's  garden  bird.  <,i 

"An  hour  passed  on. — The  Turk  awoke; 

That  bright  dream  was  his  last;  ' 

He  woke — to  hear  the  sentry's  shriek,  • 

•  To  arms  !  they  come  !  the  Greek  !  the  Greek ! '  \> 


Transition  in  Pitch.  ■     289 

He  woke  to  die  'midst  flame  and  smoke, 
And  shout  and  groan,  and  sabre  stroke, 
And  death  shots  falling  thick  and  fast  . 
As  lightnings  from  the  mountain  cloud  : 
And  heard,  with  voice  as  trumpet  loud, 
Bozzaris  cheer  his  band  : 
•  Strike — till  the  last  armed  foe  expires, 
Strike — for  your  altars  and  your  fires. 
Strike — for  the  green  graves  of  your  sires, 
God — and  your  native  land  ! ' 

"They  fought — like  brave  men,   long  and  well, 
They  piled  that  ground  with  Moslem  slain. 
They  conquered — but  Bozzaris  fell. 
Bleeding  at  every  vein." 

— "■Marco  Bozzaris,'"   Halleck. 

20f .  Lastly,  transition  in  pitch  marks  the  difference  be- 
tween the  parenthetical  idea  and  the  current  thought  it 
interr  ipts. 

Thj  parenthesis,  in  introduced  clauses,  always  represents 
what  may  be  termed  a  cross-current  of  thought,  and  as  such 
must  be  distinguished  vocally  from  the  main  current. 
Whetier  the  parenthetical  clause  shall  be  raised  or  de- 
press(;d,  however,  depends  entirely  upon  the  pitch  of  the 
main  sentence,  for  if  this,  from  the  nature  of  the  senti- 
ment be  in  low  pitch,  the  parenthesis  should  be  in  a 
higher,  and  vice  versa,  the  necessary  contrast  being  most 
naturilly  effected  in  this  way.  It  should,  moreover,  gener- 
ally erminate  with  the  same  melodic  movement  as  that 
mark  ng  the  close  of  the  last  word  preceding  it,  in  order 
to  pr  iserve  the  connection  on  the  ear  between  the  parts  of 
the  sentence  it  separates. 

The  parenthesis  should  always  be  marked  by  a  lighter 
force  and  a  quicker  movement,  as  well  as  a  change  in 
pitch  never  taking  as  much  expression  as  the  current  into 
whic  I  it  breaks.  It  should  be  put  in  lighter  colors,  as  it 
were    as  incidental  only  to  the  main  expression. 

M.  E.-25.  • 


290  Murdoch's  Elocution, 

207.  In  addition,  therefore,  to  the  elementary  drills 
already  given  for  the  purpose  of  developing  the  voice  to 
its  fullest  extent  in  pitch,  the  following  exercise  should  be 
practiced. 

Let  the  lines  here  given  be  begun  upon  the  lowest  pitch, 
and  with  energetic  force  be  carried  gradually  upward, 
through  successive  ranges,  until  the  voice  has  traversed  its 
entire  compass  (not  running  into  falsetto).  Then  let  a 
descent  be  made  in  the  same  manner  to  the  lowest  pitch 
again — an  earnest  degree  of  force  being  sustained  through- 
out. This  should  be  frequently  repeated  upon  the  words 
here  given,  and  upon  others  the  student  may  himself  select 
for  the  purpose.  This  manner  of  reading  is,  of  course,  to 
be  without  reference  to  the  sense  or  sentiment,  but  simply 
as  an  exercise  of  the  voice  through  the  various  ranges  of 
its  compass : 

**  And  here  his  course  the  Chieftain  staid, 
Threw  down  his  target  and  his  pUid, 
And  to  the  lowland  warrior  said : — 
*  Bold  Saxon !  to  his  promise  just, 
Vich-Alpine  has  discharged  his  trust. 
This  murderous  chief,   this  ruthless  man, 
This  head  of  a  rebellious  clan. 
Hath  led  thee  safe,  through  watch  and  ward. 
Far  past  Clan-Alpine's  outmost  guard. 
Now,  man  to  man,  and  steel  to  steel, 
A  chieftain's  vengeance  thou  shalt  feel. 
See  here,  all  vantageless  I  stand, 
Arm'd,   like  thyself,  with  single  brand  :  * 

For  this  is  Coilantogle  ford. 
And  thou  must  keep  thee  with  thy  sword.'" 

208.  To  be  able  to  make  transitions  from  one  pitch  to 
another  in  speaking,  particularly  to  another  widely  re- 
moved, is  one  of  the  most  difficult  points  of  execution  in 
the  artistic  use  of  the  speaking  voice,  and  one  of  the  most 


Transition  in  Speech.  291 

important,  as  it  constitutes  the  first  requisite  in  marking 
the  ever-succeeding  changes  from  one  state  of  thought  or 
passion  to  another. 

In  addition  to  examples  for  practice  of  the  uses  of  tran- 
sition in  expression  here  given,  transitions  in  pitch  should 
be  p]  acticed  in  every  degree  upon  successions  of  the  vowel 
elem<mts  and  successions  of  numerals.  See  ^  163.  Tran- 
sition s  in  pitch  may  be  taught  in  class-reading  by  appro- 
priating to  each  of  the  class  certain  parts  of  any  passage 
containing  rapid  and  discursive  dialogue  between  different 
speakers,  in  which  the  pitch  of  the  sentence  is  continually 
changing  as  it  passes  from  one  to  the  other. 

Examples  of  Transition  in  Pitch. 

In  the  following  stanza,  the  last  couplet  falls  below  the 
middle    pitch,    to    mark    the    prophetic    character    of    the 

thou[;ht: 

"They  dropped  their  lines  in  the  lazy  tide, 

Drawing  up  haddock  and  mottled  cod ; 

They  saw  not  the  shadoiu  that  walked  beside. 

They  heard  not  the  feet  with  silence  shod.^^ 

"With  that  he  cried,  and  beat  his  breast; 

For  lo !   along  the  river's  bed 
A  mighty  eygre  reared  his  crest, 

And  up  the  Lindis  raging  sped. 
It  swept  with  thunderous  noises  loud, 
Shaped  like  a  curling  snow-white  cloud, 
Or  like  a  demon  in  a  shroud^ 

"Round  purple  peaks 
It  sails,  and  seeks 
Blue  inlets,   and  their  crystal  creeks, 
Where  high  rocks  throw. 
Through  deeps  below, 
A  duplicated  golden  glozv." 


292  Murdoch' s  Eloaitioji. 

The  stanza  from  "■The  Battle  of  Waterloo''  opens  with 
high  pitch,  aspirated  quality.  The  answer  is  made  in 
lower  pitch,  and  clear,  full  quality  of  voice,  with  loud  con- 
crete; this  is  continued  to  the  sixth  line,  when  the  voice  is 
lifted  on  hark,  and  falls  on  * '  that  heavy  sound  breaks  in  once 
As  if  the  clouds,''''  etc.,  rises  slightly  in  pitch. 


■>■>       K 


'  Did  ye  not  hear  it  ? — No ;  't  was  but  the  wind, 
Or  the  car  rattling  o'er  the  stony  street: 
On  with  the  dance  !   let  joy  be  unconfined ; 
No  sleep  till  morn,  when  Youth  and  Pleasure  meet 
To  chase  the  glowing  Hours  with  flying  feet — 
But,  hark! — that  heavy  sound  breaks  in  once  more. 
As  if  the  clouds  its  echo  would  repeat ; 
And  nearer,  clearer,  deadlier  than  before ! 
Arm!     Arm!     It  is! — it  is! — the  cannon's  opening  roar 


(  " 


Sudden  Transition. 


M 


The  following  passage  from  Collins's  "Ode"  will  afford 
a  fine  example  of  variation.  In  passing  from  the  tone  of 
melancholy  to  that  of  cheerfulness,  it  will  be  observed 
that  the  voice  changes  from  a  faint  utterance,  low  note, 
and  slow  rate,  to  a  strain  which  is  comparatively  forcible, 
high,  and  rapid. 

MELANCHOLY. 

**  Through  glades  and  glooms  the  mingled  measure  stole. 
Or,  o'er  some  haunted  stream,  with  fond  delay, 
(Round  an  holy  calm  diff"using, 
Love  of  peace  and  lonely  musing,) 
In  hollow  murmurs  died  away." 

CHEERFULNESS. 

"But,  oh!  how  altered  was  its  sprightlier  tone, 
When  Cheerfulness,  a  nymph  of  healthiest  hue. 


Transition  in  Pitch. 


293 


Her  bow  across  her  shoulder  flung, 

Her  buskins  gemmed  with  morning  dew, 

Blew  an  inspiring  air,   that  dale  and  thicket  rung, 

The  hunter's  call,  to  Faun  and  Dryad  known." 

"Did  you  know  the  burning  of  his  bosom! — [but  I  speak  un- 
thinkingly, perhaps,  what  my  delicacy  should  not  have  whispered,  even 
in  the  ear  of  friendship).'''' 

"Could  we  but  prevail  on  my  father  to  think  thus! — {alas,  his 
mind  z  r  not  formed  for  contracting  into  that  narrow  sphere  which  his 
forttim    has  now  marked  out  for  him). ^^ 

In  ;he  following,  the  poetic  narrative  is  delivered  in  mid- 
dle p  tch,  full  natural  quality,  changing  to  orotund  at  the 
sixth  line.  The  sudden  transition  occurs  at  'tis  fired, 
where  we  have  fine  instance ,  of  climax  and  accelerated 
movement. 

"The  vaults  beneath  the  mosaic  stone 
Contain'd  the  dead  of  ages  gone ; 


Here,  throughout  the  siege,  had  been 
The  Christians'  chiefest  magazine ; 
To  these  a  late-form'd  train  now  led, 
Minotti's  last  and  stern  resource 
Against  the  foe's  o'erwhelming  force. 


The  foe  came  on,   and  few  remain 

To  strive,   and  those  must  strive  in  vain : 

To  the  high  altar  on  they  go ; 

And  round  the  sacred  table  glow 

Twelve  lofty  lamps,  in  splendid  row, 

From  the  purest  metal  cast ; 

A  spoil — the  richest,  and  the  last. 

So  near  they  came,  the  nearest  stretch' d 

To  grasp  the  spoil  he  almost  reach'd, — 


294  Murdoch's  Elocution. 

When  old  Minotti's  hand 

Touch'd  with  the  torch  the  train — 

T  is  fired  ! 

Spire,  vaults,  the  shrine,  the  spoil,  the  slain. 

The  turbati'd  victors,  the  Christian  band. 

All  that  of  living  or  dead  remain, 

HurPd  on  high  with  the  shiver' d  fane. 

In  one  wild  roar  expired!'''' 


General  Divisions  of  Pitch. 

209.  The  general  divisions  of  pitch  are  low,  very  low, 
high,  very  high,  and  middle  or  medium.  These,  it  is  under- 
stood, are  only  relative,  and  do  not  mark  any  positive 
division  of  the  scale.  Th^  great  mistake  in  popular  in- 
struction is  to  treat  pitch  as  sentential  only^  in  which  case 
the  individual  significance  or  expressive  effect  of  syllabli^ 
intonation  is  overlooked,  and  only  the  general  effect  of 
pitch  as  an  agent  of  expression  observed. 

A  knowledge  of  this,  however,  is  of  great  importance  to 
the  student  in  the  expression  of  what  is  called  the  ' '  deeper 
feelings,"  such  as  awe,  horror,  despair,  deep  grief,  rage, 
scorn,  fear,  inelancholy,  etc.  In  the  utterance  of  very 
serious  or  impressive  thoughts,  the  voice  will  adopt  the 
lower  ranges  of  pitch,  the  degree  of  gravity  from  which  it 
will  rise  and  fall  being  determined  by  the  degree  of  depth 
or  intensity  in  the  feeling. 

In  the  expression  of  the  more  elevated,  animating,  gay, 
a.nd  joyous  states  of  mind,  such  as  hope,  cheerfulness,  mirth, 
joy,  ecstasy,  raillery,  facetiousness,  etc. ,  the  voice  will  traverse 
the  upper  ranges  of  its  compass  in  their  appropriate  de- 
grees of  gradation;  while  in  states  of  sudden  or  extreme 
excitement,  such  as  alarm,  acute  grief  or  pain,  it  will  be 
carried  into  the  highest,  as  in  the  shrieking  and  screaming 
utterance  of  the  falsetto. 


Ge7ieral  Divisions  of  Pitch.  295 

In  ordinary  or  unimpassioned  language,  such  as  betokens 
a  quii.'t  state  of  mind,  and  is  heard  in  unexcited  conversa- 
tion Dr  narrative,  or  in  earnest,  didactic  discourse,  the 
meloc.y  naturally  assunies  the  middle  ranges  of  pitch,  ap- 
proaching, according  to  the  gradations  of  feeling,  either  to 
the  lower  or  upper  ranges.  In  the  ever  varying  states  of 
the  rrind,  there  will  be  continued  transitions  from  the  one 
to  tha  other,  but  the  prevailing  thought  or  feeling  of  a 
grou|:  of  words,  or  of  a  sentence,  may  be  said  to  deter- 
mine their  general  sentential  pitch.  In  grave  or  solemn 
language,  tending  to  the  lowest  ranges  of  pitch,  the  melody 
is  CO  ifined  chiefly  to  the  phrases  of  the  monotone,  inter- 
spersed with  the  rising  or  falling  ditone,  the  quantity  long 
and  inovement  slow.* 

In  language  of  a  lighter  character,  mirthful,  facetious,  or 
joyous,  where  the  melody  traverses  the  upper  ranges  of 
pitch  the  alternate  phrase  prevails,  and  if  of  a  highly  ani- 
mate! and  glowing  character,  a  rising  and  falling  tritone 
may  be  occasionally  employed. 

High  Pitch. 

'  Quick  brightening  like  lightning — it  tore  me  along, 
Down,   down,  till  the  gush  of  a  torrent,  at  play 
In  the  rocks  of  its  wilderness,  caught  me — and  strong 
As  the  wings  of  an  eagle,  it  whirl'd  me  away." 

Low  Pitch,  t 

''  I  elow,  at  the  foot  of  that  precipice  drear. 

Spread  the  gloomy,  and  purple,  and  pathless  Obscure ! 
1 .  silence  of  Horror  that  slept  on  the  ear. 
That  the  eye  more  appall'd  might  the  Horror  endure!" 


*■  1  ange  refers  to  the  compass — not  a  particular  pitch, 
t These  examples  are  both  from  Schiller's  "Z>?z'^r,"   translated  by 
Bulw  r. 


296  Murdoch s  Elocution. 


Middle  Pitch. 

LIGHT    CONVERSATIONAL    STYLE. — Natural    Quality.      Light 
Radical  Stress.      Quick  Movement.     Delicate  Force. 

The  different  sentiments  require  change  in  pitch  in  sen- 
tential form. 

"Words  are,  as  Wordsworth  has  happily  said,  'the  incarnation 
of  thought.'  Indeed,  words,  in  themselves,  are  nothing  more  than 
*  mouthfuls  of  spoken  wind,'  the  sons  and  daughters  of  the  tongue 
and  lungs.  They  are  hardened  into  consistency  by  a  process  of 
pens,  ink,  and  paper.  In  this  state  they  take  form.  But  naturally 
they  are  immaterial  substances,  like  thoughts.  The  sculptor  em- 
bodies an  idea  in  marble,  and  we  discriminate  between  the  essence 
and  the  form.  Why  should  we  not  also  distinguish  between  a  word 
printed  or  written,  and  a  word  spoken  or  conceived, — between  the 
body  and  the  soul  of  an  expulsion  of  air  ?  Words,  in  truth,  are 
entities,  real  existences,  immortal  beings;  and,  though  I  would  not 
go  the  whole  length  of  Hazlitt,  in  saying  that  they  are  the  only 
things  that  live  forever,  I  would  indicate  their  title  to  a  claim  in 
the  eternities  of  this  world,  and  defend  them  from  the  cavils  of 
presumption  and  ignorance. 

'*  Leaving,  however,  these  lofty  notions  of  words,  and  coming 
down  to  the  every-day  world  of  books  and  men,  we  observe  many 
queer  developments  of  the  cozenage  of  language.  The  most  fluent 
men  seem  the  most  influential.  All  classes  seem  to  depend  upon 
words.  Principles  are  nothing  in  comparison  with  speech.  A  poli- 
tician is  accused  of  corruption,  inconsistency,  and  loving  number 
one  more  than  number  ten  thousand.  Straightway  he  floods  the 
country  with  words,  and  is  honorably  acquitted.  A  gentleman  of 
far  reaching  and  purse  reaching  intelligence  concocts  twenty  millions 
of  pills,  and  "works"  them  off  to  agents,  and,  in  the  end,  trans- 
fers the  whole  from  his  laboratory  to  the  stomachs  of  an  injured 
and  oppressed  people,  by  means  of — words.  An  author  wishes  to  be 
sublime,  but  has  no  fire  in  him,  to  give  sparkle  and  heat  to  his 
compositions.      His  ideas   are   milk-and-water   logged,   feeble,   com- 


General  Divisions  of  Pitch,  297 

monp.ace,  nerveless,  witless,  and  soulless;  or  his  thoughts  are  bal- 
lasted with  lead  instead  of  being  winged  with  inspiration.  *  What 
shall  I  do  ? '  he  cries,  in  the  most  plaintive  terms  of  aspiring 
stupic  ity.  Poor  poetaster !  do  not  despair  !  take  to  thy  dictionary, — 
drencti  thy  thin  blood  with  gin, — learn  the  power  of  words.  Pile 
the  Cssa  of  Rant  on  the  Pelion  of  Hyperbole,  and  thy  slnall  fraction 
of  th.;  Trite  shall  be  exalted  to  the  heights  of  the  Sublime,  and  the 
admiiing  gaze  of  many  people  shall  be  fixed  upon  it,  and  the  coin 
shall  jingle  in  thy  pocket,  and  thou  shalt  be  denominated  Great! 
But  i  f  thy  poor  pate  be  incapable  of  the  daring,  even  in  expression, 
then  grope  dubiously  in  the  dismal  swamps  of  verbiage,  and  let  thy 
mind  s  fingers  feel  after  spungy  and  dropsical  words,  out  of  which 
little  sense  can  be  squeezed,  and  arrange  the  oozy  epithets  and  un- 
substantial substantives  into  lines,  and  out  of  the  very  depths  of 
Bathe  s  thou  shalt  arise  a  sort  of  mud-Venus,  and  men  shall  mis- 
take thee  for  her  that  rose  from  the  sea,  and  the  coin  shall  still 
clink  in  thy  fob,  and  thou  shalt  be  called  Beautiful!  Such  is  the 
omni  iotence  of  words !  They  can  exalt  the  little;  they  can  depress 
the  ligh;  a  ponderous  polysyllable  will  break  the  chain  of  an 
argui  lent,  or  crack  the  pate  of  a  thought,  as  a  mace  or  a  battle-axe 
could   split  the  crown  of  a  soldier  in  the  elder  time." 

— '■^Words^''''  Whipple. 


ANI^  ATED  STYLE. — Natural  Quality.    Light  Radical,     Waves. 
Moderate.     Brisk  *Moz^ement. 

'  Some  words  on  Language  may  be  well  applied, 
And  take  them  kindly,   though  they  touch  your  pride; 
Words  lead  to  things;  a  scale  is  more  precise, — 
Coarse  speech,  bad  grammar,  swearing,   drinking,  vice. 
Our  cold  Northeaster's  icy  fetter  clips 
The  native  freedom  of  the  Saxon  lips ; 
See  the  brown  peasant  of  the  plastic  South, 
How  all  his  passions  play  about  his  mouth ! 
With  us,   the  feature  that  transmits  the  soul, 
A  frozen,  passive,  palsied  breathing-hole. 
The  crampy  shackles  of  the  ploughboy's  walk 
Tie  the  small  muscles  when  he  strives  to  talk; 
Not  all  the  pumice  of  the  polished  town 


298  Murdoch's  Elocution. 

Can  smooth  this  roughness  of  the  barnyard  down ; 

Rich,  honor'd,   titled,  he  betrays  his  race 

By  this  one  mark, — he  's  awkward  in  the  face ; — 

Nature's  rude  impress,  long  before  he  knew 

The  sunny  street  that  holds  the  sifted  few. 

It  can't  be  helped,   though,  if  we  're  taken  young, 

We  gain  some  freedom  of  the  lips  and  tongue; 

But  school  and  college  often  try  in  vain 

To  break  the  padlock  of  our  boyhood's  chain : 

One  stubborn  word  will  prove  this  axiom  true, — 

No  quondam  rustic  can  enunciate  view. 

A  few  brief  stanzas  may  be  well  employed 

To  speak  of  errors  we  can  all  avoid. 

"Learning  condemns  beyond  the  reach  of  hope 
The  careless  lips  that  speak  of  s6ap  for  sOap; 
Her  edict  exiles  from  her  fair  abode 
The  clownish  voice  that  utters  r6ad  for  road : 
Less  stern  to  him  who  calls  his  cOat  a  c6at, 
And  steers  his  boat,   believing  it  a  b6at. 
She  pardoned  one,  our  classic  city's  boast. 
Who  said  at  Cambridge,   m6st  instead  of  most. 
But  knit  her  brows  and  stamped  her  angry  foot 
To  hear  a  Teacher  call  a  root  a  r6ot. 

*'  Once  more ;  speak  clearly,  if  you  speak  at  all ; 
Carve  every  word  before  you  let  it  fall; 
Don't,  like  a  lecturer  or  dramatic  star, 
Try  over-hard  to  roll  the  British  R ; 
Do  put  your  accents  in  the  proper  spot ; 
Don't, — let  me  beg  you, — don't  say  'How?'  for     What? 
And,  when  you  stick  on  conversation's  burrs, 
Don't  strew  your  pathway  with  those  dreadful  urs^ 

— *'  Language,"  O.  W.  Holmes. 

SERIOUS  STYLE. — Natural  Quality.  Light  Radical  Stress. 
Moderate  Force  and  Movement.  Diatonic  Melody,  broken 
by  occasional  Intervals  of  the  Third  and  Waves  of  the  Second. 

"  For  rising  to  eminence  in  any  intellectual  pursuit,  there  is  not 
a  rule  of  more  essential  importance  than  that  of  doing  one  thing  at 


General  Divisions  of  Pitch.  299 

a  tinie;  avoiding  distracting  and  desultory  occupations,  and  keeping 
a  le<'  ding  object  habitually  before  the  mind,  as  one  in  which  it  can 
at  a  1  times  find  an  interesting  resource  when  necessary  avocations 
alloA/  the  thoughts  to  recur  to  it.  If,  along  with  this  habit,  there 
be  cultivated  the  practice  of  constantly  writing  such  views  as  arise, 
we  )erhaps  describe  that  state  of  mental  discipline  by  which  talents 
of  a  very  moderate  order  may  be  applied  in  a  conspicuous  and  useful 
manner  to  any  subject  to  which  they  are  devoted.  Such  writing 
neec  not  be  made  at  first  with  any  great  attention  to  method,  but 
merjly  put  aside  for  future  consideration,  and  in  this  manner  the 
different  departments  of  a  subject  will  develop  and  arrange  them- 
selves as  they  advance,  in  a  manner  equally  pleasing  and  won- 
deriul." 

— "  Qualities  of  a   Well  Regulated  Mind,'"  Abercrombie. 


High  Pitch. 

GA<^   STYLE. — Expulsive   Orotund.     Impassioned  Force.     Me- 
dian Stress. 

"Then  sing,  ye  birds,  sing,  sing  a  joyous  song  ! 
And  let  the  young  lambs  bound 
As  to  the  tabor's  sound ! 
We  in  thought  will  join  your  throng, 
Ye  that  pipe  and  ye  that  play, 
Ye  that  through  your  hearts  to-day 
Feel  the  gladness  of  the  May ! 

What  though  the  radiance  which  was  once  so  bright 
Be  now  forever  taken  from  my  sight, 
Though  nothing  can  bring  back  the  hour 
Of  splendor  in  the  grass>  of  glory  in  the  flower; 
We  will  grieve  not,  rather  find 
Strength  in  what  remains  behind ; 
In  the  primal  sympathy 
Which  having  been  must  ever  be ; 
In  the  soothing  thoughts  that  spring 
Out  of  human  suffering ; 
In  the  faith  that  looks  through  death. 
In  years  that  bring  the  philosophic  mind." 

— ^'■Intimations  of  Immortality ,^''  WORDSWORTH. 


300  Mur docks  Elocution. 


Very  High  Pitch. 

SONG    OF    EXULTATION. — Expulsive    Orotufid.       Impassioned 
Force.      Quick  Time.     Median  Stress. 

•'Sing  the  bridal  of  nations!    with  chorals  of  love, 
Sing  out  the  war  vulture  and  sing  in  the  dove, 
Till  the  hearts  of  the  peoples  keep  time  in  accord. 
And  the  voice  of  the  world  is  the  voice  of  the  Lord  ! 

Clasp  hands  of  the  nations 

In  strong  gratulations : 
The  dark  night  is  ending  and  dawn  has  begun ; 
Rise,  hope  of  the  ages,  arise  like  the  sun, 
All  speech  flow  to  music,  all  hearts  beat  as  one!" 

— "  Christmas  Carmen,''  Whittiek. 

JOYOUS   MOVEMENT. — Effustve    Orotund.      Quick   Time.     Im- 
passioned Force.     Median  Stress. 

"O  come,  let  us  sing  unto  the  Lord:  let  us  make  a  joyful  noise 
to  the  rock  of  our  salvation.  Let  us  come  before  his  presence  with 
thanksgiving,  and  make  a  joyful  noise  unto  him  with  psalms.  For 
the  Lord  is  a  great  God,   and  a  great  King  above  all  gods. 

"In  his  hand  are  the  deep  places  of  the  earth:  the  strength  of 
the  hills  is  his  also. 

"The  sea  is  his,  and  he  made  it:  and  his  hands  formed  the  dry 
land.  O  come,  let  us  worship  and  bow  down :  let  us  kneel  before 
the  Lord  our  maker.  For  he  is  our  God ;  and  we  are  the  people  of 
his  pasture,  and  the  sheep  of  his  hand." 

—  The  Psalms. 

Low  Pitch, 

Effusive  Orotund.     Median   Stress.     Stow   Movement.     Light 

Force. 

"O  sleep,  O  gentle  sleep. 
Nature's  soft  nurse,  how  have  I  frighted  thee. 
That  thou  no  more  wilt  weigh  my  eyelids  down. 
And  steep  my  senses  in  forgetfulness  ? 


General  Divisions  of  Pitch,  301 

Why  rather,  sleep,  Host  thou  in  smoky  cribs, 

Upon  uneasy  pallets  stretching  thee, 

And  hushed  with  buzzing  night-flies  to  thy  slumber; 

Than  in  the  perfumed  chambers  of  the  great, 

Under  the  canopies  of  costly  state, 

And  lulled  with  sounds  of  sweetest  melody? 

O  thou  dull  god,   why  liest  thou  with  the  vile, 

In  loathsome  beds ;  and  leav'st  the  kingly  couch, 

A  watch-case,  or  a  common  'larum  bell? 

Wilt  thou  upon  the  high  and  giddy  mast 

Seal  up  the  ship-boy's  eyes,  and  rock  his  brains 

In  cradle  of  the  rude  imperious  surge. 

And  in  the  visitation  of  the  winds. 

Who  take  the  ruffian  billows  by  the  top, 

Curling  their  monstrous  heads,  and  hanging  them 

With  deaf'ning  clamours  in  the  slippery  clouds, 

That,  with  the  hurly,  death  itself  awakes? 

Canst  thou,  O  partial  sleep!  give  thy  repose 

To  the  wet  sea-boy,  in  an  hour  so  rude; 

And,  in  the  calmest  and  most  stillest  night, 

With  all  appliances  and  means  to  boot. 

Deny  it  to  a  king?" 

— ''Sleep,'"  Shakespeare. 

Very  Low  Pitch. 

T  le  vivid  impression  made  upon  Clarence's  mind  by  his 
dream  recalls  the  terror  of  the  time,  sinking  the  voice 
in  p.tch,  which  becomes  aspirated,  pectoral  in  quality,  and 
caunng  a  labored  action  of  the  organs. 

"My  dream  was  lengthened  after  life: 
O,  then  began  the  tempest  to  my  soul  ! — 


With  that,  methought,   a  legion  of  foul  fiends 
Environed  me,  and  howled  in  mine  ears 
Such  hideous  cries,   that,  with  the  very  noise 
I  trembling  waked,  and,  for  a  season  after, 
Could  not  believe  but  that  I  was  in  hell; 
Such  terrible  impression  made  my  dream !  " 

— '*  Clarence's  Dream,'"  SHAKESPEARE. 


302  Mu7^doc/is  Elocution, 


STERN    REBUKE. 

"Woe  unto  you,  scribes  and  Pharisees,  hypocrites!  for  ye  are 
like  unto  whited  sepulchres,  which  indeed  appear  beautiful  outward, 
but  are  within  full  of  dead  men's  bones,  and  of  all  uncleanness. 
Even  so  ye  also  outwardly  appear  righteous  unto  men,  but  within  ye 
are  full  of  hypocrisy  and  iniquity." 

— New  Testament. 


DISGUST  AND  LOATHING. — Aspirated  Pectoral   Quality.     Ex- 
pulsive.    Final  Stress.     Forcible  Movement.     Slow  Time. 

"As  Sir  Launfal  made  morn  through  the  darksome  gate. 

He  was  'ware  of  a  leper,   crouched  by  the  same, 
Who  begged  with  his  hand  and  moaned  as  he  sate; 

And  a  loathing  over  Sir  Launfal  came ; 
The  sunshine  went  out  of  his  soul  with  a  thrill, 

The  flesh  'neath  his  armor  'gan  shrink  and  crawl. 
And  midway  its  leap  his  heart  stood  still 

Like  a  frozen  waterfall ; 
For  this  man,  so  foul  and  bent  of  stature, 
Rasped  harshly  against  his  dainty  nature. 
And  seemed  the  one  blot  on  the  summer  morn, — 
So  he  tossed  him  a  piece  of  gold  in  scorn." 

— ^'■Vision  of  Sir  Launfal,''^  Lowt\^L. 


Death  is  here,  and  death  is  there. 

Death  is  busy  everywhere. 

All  around,   within,   beneath. 

Above,  is  death ;  and  we  are  death. 

Death  has  set  his  mark  and  seal 

On  all  we  are,  and  all  we  feel. 

First  our  pleasures  die,  and  then 

Our  hopes,  and  then  our  fears,  and  when 

These  are  dead,   the  debt  is  due. 

Dust  claims  dust,  and  we  die  too." 

— ' '  Death, ' '  She-lley. 


Chapter  XXIV. 


Force. 


23  0.  Force,  considered  as  a  generic  property  of  the 
voici,  may  be  defined  as  the  variation  of  strength  and 
weakness.  This  property  we  have  seen  to  have  its  base  in 
the  degree  of  organic  exertion  with  which  language  is 
utte  ed,  under  the  varying  circumstances  or  degrees  of 
mental  stimulus  in  thought  and  passion.  Force  exists 
und  jr  the  modifications  of  degree  and  form. 

Tie  gradations  in  degree  vary  from  the  lightest  and 
soft{  St  sound  utterable  to  the  most  powerful  effort  of  the 
hurran  voice.  They  may  be  designated  by  the  terms  simi- 
larl}  employed  in  music :  pianissimo  (very  soft  or  light) ; 
pia)  0  (soft  or  light) ;  mezzo-piano  (moderately  soft  or  light) ; 
mezi  0  (moderate) ;  forte  (loud  or  strong) ;  fortissimo  (very 
louc    or  strong). 

Although  force^  in  its  generic  sense,  thus  comprehends 
the  result  in  sound  arising  from  every  degree  of  organic 
exei  tion,  the  term  force^  when  unqualified  as  to  degree,  is 
usee  in  its  ordinary  and  more  limited  application  to  signify 
onl)  the  higher  degrees  of  this  vocal  property,  and  is  thus 
emj  loyed  as  synonymous  with  power^  strength,  energy,  inten- 
sity,  etc. 

Tie  varieties  of  form  in  force  have  already  been  de- 
scri  )ed  as  stress,  or  the  peculiar  application  of  intensity  or 
ene;gy  to  the  several  parts,  or  to  the  whole  of  the  syllabic 
con*  :rete. 

(303) 


304  Murdoch! s  Elocution. 

In  all  previous  studies,  force  has  been  practically  treated 
and  employed  in  common  with  other  properties  of  the 
voice,  and  as  inseparable  from  the  elementary  practices  in 
voice  development.  At  present,  it  is  my  object  to  set 
forth  more  specifically  its  relations  to  the  utterance  of 
thought  and  passion.  I  will  first  direct  the  student's  atten- 
tion to  the  general  principle  of  force  in  this  connection, 
leaving  the  individual  expressive  character  of  the  several 
stresses  to  occupy  a  separate  study  as  a  peculiar  modifica- 
tion of  this  principle. 

Force  may  be  applied  to  single  syllables,  to  words,  to 
phrases,  or  to  whole  sentences,  according  as  the  energy  or 
intensity  of  the  state  of  emotion  or  passion  of  the  speaker 
shall  demand. 

All  of  the  passions  are  in  some  degree  forcible  in  their 
expression,  from  strong  energy,  in  the  utterance  of  joy  and 
ecstasy^  cheerfulness^  etc.,  to  vehement  intensity  in  anger ^ 
ferocity^  rage,  revenge,  hate,  terror,  and  pain.  Certainty  is 
also  more  or  less  forcible  in  the  expression  of  its  positive- 
ness.  The  tranquil  state  of  unimpassioned  thought  impels 
the  organs  to  but  a  moderate  degree  of  exertion.  Doubt, 
tmcertainty ,  and  secrecy,  and  the  more  gentle  and  plaintive 
emotions,  generally  employ  an  abated  force  or  softness  of 
utterance. 

The  circumstances  and  situation  of  a  speaker  determine 
the  accurate  degree  of  force  to  be  applied  to  language  in- 
dependent of  the  thought,  sentiment,  or  passion  it  ex- 
presses. When  there  is  distance  to  be  overcome,  or  large 
space  to  be  filled,  the  energy  of  utterance  must  be  cor- 
respondingly increased;  whereas,  nearness  of  a  speaker  to 
his  object,  or  limited  space  in  the  dimensions  of  an  audi- 
torium, imply  a  proportionately  abated  force. 

211.  Force  is  always  to  be  distinguished  from  mere  loud- 
ness. In  all  exertion  of  the  animal  organism,  it  is  concen- 
tration of  effort  which  implies  power  in  the  result;  without 


Force.  305 

this,  Here  loudness  will  become  bawling,  in  its  extremes; 
with  it,  there  will  be  a  firm,  concentrated  energy,  which 
constitutes  the  real  forcefulness  of  utterance.  I  can  not 
bettei  illustrate  this  point  than  by  quoting  Thelwell's  com- 
pact summary  of  the  essential  difference  between  loudness 
and  iorce : 

'* '  ?orce — contradistinct  from  loudness.'  An  extract  from  Thel- 
well's '  Rhythmus : ' 

"  I  oudness — caused  by  throwing  out  a  great  quantity  of  breath, 
by  mere  exertion  of  the  diaphragm  and  intercostal  muscles,  while 
the  fi  3ers  of  the  glottis  are  comparatively  relaxed. 

"Iorce — from  rigid  compression  of  the  fibers  connected  with  the 
primary  organ  of  vocal  impulse,  by  which  means  a  small  quantity 
of  bi  eath  produces  stronger  and  more  distinct  vibrations,  the  im- 
pulse: of  which,  though  less  harsh  and  stunning,  diffuse  themselves 
through  a  wider  circuit." 

All  correct  elementary  practice,  as  previously  directed, 
and  in  the  exercises  on  stress  to  follow,  will  develop  this 
firmness,  efficacy,  and  economy  of  effort  in  organic  action 
which  constitutes  true  force,  and  will  thus  prepare  the 
voic ;  for  a  similar  exertion  in  the  expression  of  consecu- 
tive language. 

T  le  most  intensified  form  in  which  language  may  be 
utte  ed  is  that  called  suppressed  force.  In  this  form  of  ex- 
presiion,  the  animal  forces  seem  to  be  gathered  up  for  a 
great  effort  of  utterance,  but  seeming  to  be  held  back,  as 
it  w  ire,  by  some  conflicting  or  opposing  force  in  the  mind, 
labo-  to  expend  their  power.  The  result  is,  a  strong,  half 
aspi  -ated  vocality  in  the  language  uttered,  representing  the 
utm  Dst  concentration  of ,  effort,  and  inspiring  the  hearer 
wit]  a  realizing  sense  of  the  pent  up  lava-flood  of  feeling 
or  ]  assion  struggling  and  boiling  underneath.  Sometimes, 
in  ^uch  utterance,  the  vocality  is  entirely  crushed  out,  and 
the  result  is  the  strongest  form  of  articulate  whisper,  which 

M.  E.— 26. 


3o6  MiirdocJis  Elocution, 

requires  the  most  intense  muscular  effort  of  which  the 
voice-making  apparatus  is  capable. 

When  the  energy  of  expression  is  extreme,  the  breath 
sent  forth  can  not,  for  some  jreason,  be  all  converted  into 
vocality.  Aspiration,  therefore,  always  marks  in  a  greater 
or  less  degree  the  voice  of  all  strongly  energized  or  inten- 
sified utterance.  For  this  reason,  strongly  passionative 
language  read  in  a  strong  but  perfectly  pure  vocality,  be- 
comes merely  bombastic  or  unmeaning  loudness. 

212.  The  ability  to  command  all  degrees  and  forms  of 
force  is  not  the  only  requisite  of  study.  These  once  ac- 
quired, the  student  must  endeavor  constantly  to  adapt  them 
to  the  circumstances  of  occasion  and  expression,  so  that 
there  shall  be  no  waste  of  power,  and  no  excess  in  its  em- 
ployment. He  should  never,  even  in  the  most  extreme 
expression,  expend  all  the  power  of  which  he  is  capable, 
thus  leaving  no  reserve  supply  for  other  possible  demands 
before  recovery  of  the  forces  is  practicable.  Moreover, 
the  reader  or  speaker  impresses  his  hearer  not  only  by  the 
force  he  displays,  but  by  what  is  recognized  as  his  "re- 
serve power." 

Readers  and  speakers  too  often,  in  seeking  to  become 
forcible  and  impressive,  lose  sight  of  the  discrimination 
which  marks  the  difference  between  general  vehemence 
and  properly  graduated  effects  in  force.  The  correct  em- 
ployment of  this  element  of  voice,  in  its  varied  degrees 
and  forms,  to  consistently  represent  the  thought  or  passion 
to  be  expressed  by  the  language,  may  be  said  to  con- 
stitute, in  great  measure,  the  light  and  shade  of  vocal 
coloring. 

The  acquisition  of  force  in  degree,  from  the  lightest 
{pianissimo)  to  the  strongest  {forte),  is  the  object  of  all 
elementary  exercises,  as  the  natural  development  of  culti- 
vated organs.  Under  the  head  of  stress  we  study  the  form 
of  force ;  degree  and  form  are  inseparable. 


Force.  307 


EXAMPLES   IN   FORCE. 

Suppressed  Force. 

ama;;ement,  awe,  and  horror. — Aspirated  Pectoral  Quality. 
Slowest  MozJement.  Median  Stress.  Lowest  Fitch.  Frei'- 
ahnt  Monotone.     Extremely  Long  Pauses. 

'  I  had  a  dream,   which  was  not  all  a  dream. 
The  bright  sun  was  extinguished  ;  and  the  stars 
Did  wander  darkling  in  the  eternal  space, 
Rayless,  and  pathless;  and  the  icy  earth 
Swung  blind  and  blackening  in  the  moonless  air; 
Morn  came,  and  went, — and  came,  and  brought  no  day. 

"The  world  was  void; 
The  populous  and  the  powerful  was  a  lump, — 
Seasonless,  herbless,  treeless,  manless,  lifeless,— 
A  lump  of  death — a  chaos  of  hard  clay. 
The  rivers,  lakes,  and  ocean,  all  stood  still; 
And  nothing  stirred  within  their  silent  depths: 
Ships,  sailorless,  lay  rotting  on  the  sea; 
And  their  masts  fell  down  piecemeal :  as  they  dropped, 
They  slept  on  the  abyss  without  a  surge;- — 
The  waves  were  dead ;  the  tides  were  in  their  grave ; 
The  moon,   their  mistress,  had  expired  before ; 
The  winds  were  withered  in  the  stagnant  air; 
And  the  clouds  perished :  Darkness  had  no  need 
Of  aid  from  them,  She — was  the  universe." 

— ' '  Darkness y ' '   ByroN. 

Sje  ^'Clarence's  Dream,''  first  example,  very  low  pitch; 
also  ''Battle  of  Waterloo,"  fourth  example,  transition  in 
pitci,  Chapter  XXIII. 

"  *  0-ho! '  she  muttered,   «  Ye  're  brave  to-day ! 
But  I  hear  the  little  waves  laugh  and  say, 
The  broth  will  be  cold  that  waits  at  home; 
For  it's  one  to  go,  but  another  to  come!'" 


3o8  Murdoch! s  Eloadion. 

\ ' 

J  "The  skipper  hauled  at  the  heavy  sail: 

«  God  be  our  help,^  he  only  cried." 

— <'  The   Wreck  of  Rivermouth,''  Whittier. 

Subdued  Force. 

Tranquillity.      Natural    Quality.      Median   Stress.     Moderate 
Movement.     Middle  Pitch.      Waves. 

*«  So,  as  I  sat  upon  Appledore 

In  the  calm  of  a  closing  summer  day, 
'  '  And  the  broken  lines  of  Hampton  shore, 

In  purple  mist  of  cloudland  lay, 
The  Rivermouth  Rocks  their  story  told ; 
And  waves  aglow  with  sunset  gold, 
Rising  and  breaking  in  steady  chime, 
Beat  the  rhythm  and  kept  the  time. 

"And  the  sunset  paled,  and  warmed  once  more 
With  a  softer,  tenderer  after-glow ; 
In  the  east  was  moonrise,  with  boats  off  shore 

And  sails  in  the  distance  drifting  slow. 
The  beacon  glimmered  from  Portsmouth  bar. 
The  White  Isle  kindled  its  great  red  star; 
And  life  and  death  in  my  old-time  lay. 
Mingled  in  peace  like  the  night  and  day!" 

— "  The  Wreck  of  Rivermouth,''  Whittier. 


Profound  Repose. 

'  He  who  hath  bent  him  o'er  the  dead, 
Ere  the  first  day  of  death  is  fled, — 
The  first  dark  day  of  nothingness. 
The  last  of  danger  and  distress, — 
(Before  Decay's  effacing  fingers 
Have  swept  the  lines  where  Beauty  lingers,) 
And  marked  the  mild  angelic  air, — 
The  rapture  of  repose  that 's  there, — 
The  fixed  yet  tender  traits  that  streak 


Force.  '   309 

The  languor  of  the  placid  cheek, 

And, — but  for  that  sad,  shrouded  eye, 

That  fires  not, — wins  not, — weeps  not, — now, — 

And  but  for  that  chill,  changeless  brow, 

Where  cold  obstruction's  apathy 

Appals  the  gazing  mourner's  heart, 

As  if  to  him  it  could  impart 

The  doom  he  dreads,  yet  dwells  upon, — 

Yes, — but  for  these  and  these  alone. 

Some  moments, — ay, — one  treacherous  hour. 

He  still  might  doubt  the  tyrant's  power: 

So  fair, — so  calm, — so  softly  sealed, 

The  first — last  look — by  death  revealed !  " 

—'■'■Aspect  of  Death,''  ByroN. 


Moderate  Force. 

Naiural  Quality.      Gentle  Expulsion.     Middle  Pitch.     Gentle 
Radical  and  Median  Stress. 

"  Once  or  twice  in  a  lifetime  we  are  permitted  to  enjoy  the  charm 
of  roble  manners,  in  the  presence  of  a  man  or  woman  who  have  no 
bar  in  their  nature,  but  whose  character  emanates  freely  in  their 
wor  I  and  gesture.  A  beautiful  form  is  better  than  a  beautiful  face ; 
a  b  jautiful  behavior  is  better  than  a  beautiful  form :  it  gives  a 
higl.er  pleasure  than  statues  or  pictures, — it  is  the  finest  of  the  fine 
arts  A  man  is  but  a  little  thing  in  the  midst  of  the  objects  of 
nat  re,  yet,  by  the  moral  quality  radiating  from  his  countenance, 
he  1  lay  abolish  all  considerations  of  magnitude,  and  in  his  manners 
equ  il  the  majesty  of  the  world.  I  have  seen  an  individual,  whose 
mai  ners,  though  wholly  within  the  conventions  of  elegant  society, 
wei  a  never  learned  there,  but  were  original  and  commanding,  and 
hel  I  out  protection  and  prosperity ;  one  who  did  not  need  the  aid 
of  ,  court-suit,  but  carried  the  holiday  in  his  eye ;  who  exhilarated 
the  fancy  by  flinging  wide  the  doors  of  new  modes  of  existence ; 
wh  )  shook  off  the  captivity  of  etiquette,  with  happy,  spirited  bear- 
ing ,  good-natured  and  free  as  Robin  Hood ;  yet  with  the  port  of  an 
em  seror, — if  need  be,  calm,  serious,  and  fit  to  stand  the  gaze  of 
mi  lions." 

— '■'Manners''  Emerson. 


3IO  Murdochs  Elocution. 


Serious  Style. 

**  Is  there  not  an  amusement,  having  an  affinity  with  the  drama, 
which  might  be  usefully  introduced  among  us?     I  mean,  Recitation. 

**  A  work  of  genius,  recited  by  a  man  of  fine  taste,  enthusiasm, 
and  powers  of  elocution,  is  a  very  pure  and  high  gratification. 

«*  Were  this  art  cultivated  and  encouraged,  great  numbers,  now 
insensible  to  the  most  beautiful  compositions,  might  be  waked  up 
to  their  excellence  and  power. 

"  It  is  not  easy  to  conceive  of  a  more  effectual  way  of  spreading 
a  refined  taste  through  a  community.  The  drama  undoubtedly 
appeals  more  strongly  to  the  passions  than  recitation ;  but  the  latter 
brings  out  the  meaning  of  the  author  more.  Shakespeare,  worthily 
recited,  would  be  better  understood  than  on  the  stage. 

'*  Recitation,  sufficiently  varied,  so  as  to  include  pieces  of  chaste 
wit,  as  well  as  of  patios,  beauty,  and  sublimity,  is  adapted  to  our 
present  intellectual  progress." 

— *' Recitation^"  Channing. 


Declamatory  Style. 

**0,  Rome!  Rome!  Thou  hast  been  a  tender  nurse  to  me,  ay! 
thou  hast  given  to  that  poor,  gentle,  timid  shepherd  lad,  who  never 
knew  a  harsher  tone  than  a  flute-note,  muscles  of  iron  and  a  heart 
of  flint;  taught  him  to  drive  the  sword  through  plaited  mail  and 
links  of  rugged  brass,  and  warm  it  in  the  marrow  of  his  foe.  And 
he  shall  pay  thee  back,  until  the  yellow  Tiber  is  red  as  frothing 
wine,  and  in  its  deepest  ooze  thy  life-blood  lies  curdled !  " 

— E.  Kellogg. 

**And  shall  the  mortal  sons  of  God 
Be  senseless  as  the  trodden  clod, 

And  darker  than  the  tomb  ? 
No,  by  the  mind  of  man  ! 
By  the  swart  Artisan, 

By  God,  our  Sire ! 
Our  souls  have  holy  light  within ; 
And  every  form  ef  grief  and  sin 


»  Force.  3 1 1 

Shall  see  and  feel  its  fire ! 
By  earth,  and  hell,  and  heaven  ! 
The  shroud  of  souls  is  riven! 

Mind,  mind  alone, 
Is  light,  and  hope,  and  power! 
Earth's  deepest  night,  from  this  blest  hour, 

The  night  of  mind  is  gone." 

— Ebenezer  Elliot. 


Tremor. —  With  High  Pitch  and  Brilliant,  Orotund  Quality, 

"Then  sang  Moses  and  the  children  of  Israel  this  song  unto 
the  Lord,  and  spake,  saying,  I  will  sing  unto  the  Lord,  for  he 
hath  triumphed  gloriously:  the  horse  and  his  rider  hath  he  thrown 
into  the  sea.  The  Lord  is  my  strength  and  song,  and  he  is  be- 
com  3  my  salvation :  he  is  my  God,  and  I  will  prepare  him  a  hab- 
itat! Dn;  my  father's  God,  and  I  will  exalt  him.  The  Lord  is  a 
mar  of  war:  the  Lord  is  his  name.  Pharaoh's  chariots  and  his 
hos:  hath  he  cast  into  the  sea :  his  chosen  captains  also  are  drowned 
in  1  he  Red  Sea.  The  depths  have  covered  them :  they  sank  into 
the  bottom  as  a  stone.  Thy  right  hand,  O  Lord,  is  become  glori- 
ous in  power :  thy  right  hand,  O  Lord,  hath  dashed  in  pieces  the 
ene  ny.  And  in  the  greatness  of  thine  excellency  thou  hast  over- 
thr  )wn  them  that  rose  up  against  thee :  thou  sentest  forth  thy 
wr:  th,  which  consumed  them  as  stubble.  And  with  the  blast  of 
th}  nostrils  the  waters  were  gathered  together,  the  floods  stood  up- 
rig  it  as  a  heap,  and  the  depths  were  congealed  in  the  heart  of 
th(  sea.  The  enemy  said,  I  will  pursue,  I  will  overtake,  I  will 
di^  ide  the  spoil ;  my  lust  shall  be  satisfied  upon  them ;  I  will  draw 
m}    sword,  my  hand  shall  destroy  them. 

Thou  didst  blow  with  thy  wind,  the  sea  covered  them :  they 
sank  as  lead  in  the  mighty  waters.  Who  is  like  unto  thee,  O  Lord, 
an  ong  the  gods  ?  who  is  like  thee,  glorious  in  holiness,  fearful  in 
priises,  doing  wonders?  Thou  stretchedst  out  thy  right  hand,  the 
earth  swallowed  them.  Thou  in  thy  mercy  hast  led  forth  the  people 
w  lich  thou  hast  redeemed  :  thou  hast  guided  them  in  thy  strength 
ui  to  thy  holy  habitation.  The  people  shall  hear,  and  be  afraid: 
s(  rrow  shall  take  hold  on  the  inhabitants  of  Palestina.  Then  the 
d  ikes  of  Edom  shall  be  amazed ;   the  mighty  men  of  Moab,  tremb- 


312 


Murdoch's  Elocution. 


ling  shall  take  hold  upon  them;  all  the  inhabitants  of  Canaan  shall 
melt  away.  Fear  and  dread  shall  fall  upon  them ;  by  the  greatness 
of  thine  arm  they  shall  be  as  still  as  a  stone;  till  thy  people  pass 
over,  O  Lord,  till  the  people  pass  over,  which  thou  hast  purchased. 
Thou  shalt  bring  them  in,  and  plant  them  in  the  mountain  of 
thine  inheritance,  in  the  place,  O  Lord,  which  thou  hast  made  for 
thee  to  dwell  in,  in  the  Sanctuary,  O  Lord,  which  thy  hands  have 
established.     The  Lord  shall  reign  for  ever  and  ever." 

— Song  of  Israel. 

"  I  call  upon  those  whom  I  address  to  stand  up  for  the  no- 
bility of  labor.  It  is  Heaven's  great  ordinance  for  human  improve- 
ment. Let  not  that  great  ordinance  be  broken  down.  What  do  I 
say  ?  It  w  broken  down  ;  and  it  has  been  broken  down  for  ages.  Let 
it  then  be  built  up  again ;  here,  if  anywhere,  on  these  shores  of  a 
new  world, — of  a  new  civilization.  But  how,  I  may  be  asked,  is  it 
broken  down  ?  Do  not  men  toil  ?  it  may  be  said.  They  do  indeed 
toil ;  but  they  too  generally  do  it  because  they  must.  Many  submit 
to  it  as  in  some  sort  a  degrading  necessity ;  and  they  desire  nothing 
so  much  on.  earth  as  escape  from  it.  They  fulfill  the  great  law  of 
labor  in  the  letter,  but  break  it  in  the  spirit;  fulfill  it  with  the 
muscle,  but  break  it  with  the  mind.  To  some  field  of  labor,  mental 
or  manual,  every  idler  should  fasten,  as  a  chosen  and  coveted  theater 
of  improvement.  But  so  is  he  not  impelled  to  do,  under  the 
teachings  of  our  imperfect  civilization.  On  the  contrary,  he  sits 
down,  folds  his  hands,  and  blesses  himself  in  his  idleness.  This  way 
of  thinking  is  the  heritage  of  the  absurd  and  unjust  feudal  system 
under  which  serfs  labored,  and  gentlemen  spent  their  lives  in  fight- 
ing and  feasting.  It  is  time  that  this  opprobrium  of  toil  were  done 
away.  Ashamed  to  toil,  art  thou  ?  Ashamed  of  thy  dingy  work- 
shop and  dusty  labor-field ;  of  thy  hard  hand  scarred  with  service 
more  honorable  than  that  of  war;  of  thy  soiled  and  weather-stained 
garments,  on  which  mother  Nature  has  embroidered,  'midst  sun  and 
rain,  'midst  fire  and  steam,  her  own  heraldic  honors?  Ashamed  of 
these  tokens  and  titles,  and  envious  of  the  flaunting  robes  of  imbe- 
cile idleness  and  vanity?  It  is  treason  to  Nature; — it  is  impiety  to 
Heaven; — it  is  breaking  Heaven's  great  ordinance.  Toil^  I  repeat — 
toil,  either  of  the  brain,  of  the  heart,  or  of  the  hand,  is  the  only 
true  manhood,  the  only  true  nobility." 

"  The  Nobility  of  Labor,""  Kev,  Qrville  Dewey. 


Force.  3 1 3 


Sustained  Force, 
shouting. 

'  Tchassan  Ouglou  -■•  is  on  ! 
Tchassan  Ouglou  is  on ! 
And  with  him  to  battle 
The  Faithful  are  gone. — 

Allah,  il  allah! 
The  tambour  is  rung; 
Into  his  war-saddle 
Each  Spahi  f  hath  swung : — 
Now  the  blast  of  the  desert 
Sweeps  over  the  land, 
And  the  pale  fires  of  heaven 
Gleam  in  each  Damask  brand. 

Allah,  il  allah  !  "  | 

— Wm.  Motherwell. 


Impassioned  Force. 

Oroimd  Quality.  Aspirated.  Radical  and  Final  Stress. 
V^aves  and  Wider  Intervals.  High  Fitch.  Rapid  Move- 
7h  eni. 

'  O    woe  to  you,  ye  lofty  halls !  may  no  sweet  sounds  resound, 
N  )r  harp,    nor  song   your  chambers   through  shall   e'er  again  be 

found, 
N  ly  !    nought   but  sighs  and   groans  and   slaves  that  tread   their 

timid  way, 
T  11  you  the  avenging  fury  crush  to  ruin  and  decay ! 

"  A  ad  woe,  ye  fragrant  gardens,  in  may-light  soft  and  fair 
I  show  to  you  the  ghastly  face  of  that  dead  minstrel  there, 
T  lat  you  may  wither  at  the  sight,  your  crystal  springs  grow  dry, 
1  tiat  in  the  future  days  of  gloom  all  withered  you  may  lie ! 


Pronounced  Shassan  Ctoglue.         t  Spa-hee.         ±  Turkish  war-cry. 
M.  E.-27. 


Murdoch! s  Elocution. 


"And  woe,   thou  godless  murderer,   thou  curse  of  minstrelsy! 
Thy  strifes  for  wreaths  of  bloody  fame  are  all  in  vain  to  thee! 
Thy  name  shall    be    forgotten  when  in  endless  night   'tis  tossed, 
As  e'en,  forever,  dying  groans  in  empty  air  are  lost !  " 

— "  The  MinstrePs  Curse,'^  Uhland. 

Expulsive  Orotund,  changing  to  Explosion  in  the  authoritative 
command  opening  the  fifth  line.  High  Pitch.  Rapid 
Movement.  Final  Stress,  changing  to  Radical,  with  Inter- 
vals and  Waves. 

*'0  better  that  her  shattered  hulk 
Should  sink  beneath  the  wave ; 
Her  thunders  shook  the  mighty  deep, 
And  there  should  be  her  grave; 
Nail  to  the  mast  her  holy  flag. 
Set  every  threadbare  sail. 
And  give  her  to  the  god  of  storms. 
The  lightning  and  the  gale." 

— "  Old  Ironsides,'^  HoLMES. 


Transition  in  Force. 


In  the  following  language  descriptive  of  the  glory  of 
Italy  gained  at  the  terrible  sacrifice  of  life,  which  fell  so 
heavily  upon  Laura  Savio,  we  have  an  instance  of  sudden 
transition  from  impassioned  to  suppressed  force : 

"When  Venice  and  Rome  keep  their  new  jubilee, 

When  your  flag  takes  all  heaven  for  its  white,  green,  and  red, 
When  you  have  your  country  from  mountain  to  sea. 
When  King  Victor  has  Italy's  crown  on  his  head, 
(And  /  have  my  dead.)" 


Chapter  XXV. 

Stress :  Studies  in  Stress,  with  a  further  Application  to  the  Ex- 
pression of  Language. 

21;;.  Almost  all  of  the  forms  of  stress,  by  changing  the 
plain  equable  character  of  the  simple  concrete,  impart  to 
it  some  unusual  significance  or  expression. 

The  stresses  of  primary  importance,  and  of  the  most  fre- 
quen;  application,  are  the  Radical,  the  Final,  and  the 
Median.  They  may  exist  with  all  degrees  of  force,  but 
stres;^  does  not  in  all  cases  imply  a  strong  enforcement  of 
force 

The  compound  and  thorough  stresses  do  not  admit  of 
the  sime  gradations  in  degree  as  the  others  named.  They 
are,  therefore,  of  more  rare  occurrence,  being  among  the 
most  striking  and  vivid  constituents  of  language.  The 
pecu  iar  use  of  each  stress  in  expression,  will  now  be 
cons  dered  in  order. 


Radical  Stress. 

R  idical  stress,  as  an  element  of  perfected  articulation, 
affec:s  all  correctly  uttered  language,  imparting  to  the 
latte  •,  by  its  several  degrees  of  incisive  clearness,  a  deli- 
cate y  distinct  or  more  energetic  and  vivid  character.  In 
bris]  or  animated  utterance,  this  initial  opening  should  be 
well  marked  and  positive,  while  in  graver  language,  lack- 
ing  expressive   force,    it  is  less  pronounced  and  decisive, 

(315) 


3i6  Murdoch's  Elocution. 

though  the  organic  action  should  be  none  the  less  accurate 
and  perfect. 

The  most  clearly  marked  and  decisive  form  of  the  unim- 
passioned  radical  stress,  marks  the  distinctive  words  and 
syllables  of  language  in  which  thought  is  to  be  definitely 
contrasted  with  thought,  in  order  to  convey  a  clear  concep- 
tion to  the  hearer  of  distinctive  ideas  entirely  independent 
of  emotion  and  passion.  It  is  sometimes  called  the  dis- 
tinctive radical. 

It  should,  however,  never  be  carried  to  the  extreme  of 
sharply  puncturing  every  distinctive  word  or  syllable.  To 
exhibit  the  difference  between  this  simply  distinctive  use 
of  radical  stress  and  its  employment  as  an  element  of  for- 
cible expression,  let  the  following  words  be  spoken  simply 
as  a  clear,  distinct  statement,  implying  a  slight  degree  of 
antithetical  contrast  in  the  words  out  and  in : 

"As  he  went  out  of  my  presence,  you  came  z'w."       ^^^H 

Next,  let  the  words   ''out  of   my  presence"  be  utterecT 
as  an  angry,   imperative  exclamation,  and  the  forcible  ex- 
plosion on  out  will  be  in  strong  contrast  to  the  delicately 
distinctive    character   of   the   opening   sound   of   the   same 
word  in  the  first  instance  given. 

Radical  stress,  then,  has  an  expressive  and  an  inexpres- 
sive form.  It  is  the  only  form  of  stress  which  is  not 
always  in  some  degree  expressive.  As  radical  abruptness 
differs  from  the  other  stresses  in  being  the  root  of  all 
vocality,  and  hence  a  universal  function  of  syllabic  utter- 
ance, the  reason  of  this  exception  is  obvious.  Although 
its  execution  is  always  the  same,  its  degree  marks  the  differ- 
ence between  its  character  as  an  element  of  sentiment  and 
feeling,  and  that  of  a  simple  exponent  of  the  neutral  state 
of  unimpassioned  thought. 

As  a  preparation  for  the  following  examples  in  unimpas- 
sioned radical  stress,   see  ^  146. 


Stress.  3 1 7 


EXAMPLES   OF    RADICAL   STRESS. 

Unimpassioned   Radical. 

DIDACTIC   COMPOSITION,    SERIOUS   STYLE. — Natural    Quality. 
Moderate  Force ^  with  occasional  Thirds.      Diatonic  Melody. 

"  T  iste  and  genius  are  two  words  frequently  joined  together, 
and,  therefore,  by  inaccurate  thinkers  confounded.  They  signify, 
however,  two  quite  different  things.  The  difference  between  them 
can  bt  clearly  pointed  out,  and  it  is  of  importance  to  remember  it. 
Taste  :onsists  in  the  power  of  judging;  genius,  in  the  power  of  ex- 
ecutin;j.  One  may  have  a  considerable  degree  of  taste  in  poetry, 
eloqueice,  or  any  of  the  fine  arts,  who  has  little  or  hardly  any  genius 
for  CO  nposition  or  execution  in  any  of  these  arts ;  but  genius  can 
not  b(  found  without  including  taste  also.  Genius,  therefore,  de- 
serves to  be  considered  as  a  higher  power  of  the  mind  than  taste. 
Geniu:  always  imparts  something  inventive  or  creative,  which  does 
not  rest  in  mere  sensibility  to  beauty  where  it  is  perceived,  but 
which  can,  moreover,  produce  new  beauties,  and  exhibit  them  in 
such  n  manner  as  strongly  to  impress  the  minds  of  others.  Refined 
taste  brms  a  good  critic ;  but  genius  is  further  necessary  to  form 
the  p(  et  or  the  orator." 

"  Taste  and  Genius'''  Dr.   Hugh  Blair. 


Animated  Description. 

Natuml   Quality.     Moderate   Force.     Diatonic   Melody.,   with 
Thirds  and  Fifths. 

"Within  'twas  brilliant  all  and  light, 
A  thronging  scene  *of  figures  bright ; 
It  glowed  on  Ellen's  dazzled  sight, 
As  when  the  setting  sun  has  given 
Ten  thousand  hues  to  summer  even. 
And,  from  their  tissue,   fancy  frames  . 
Aerial  knights  and  fairy  dames. 
Still  by  Fitz-James  her  footing  staid, 


3i8  Murdoch's  Elocutio7i. 

A  few  faint  steps  she  forward  made, 
Then  slow  her  drooping  head  she  raised, 
And  fearful  round  the  presence  gazed ; 
For  him  she  sought,   who  owned  this  state. 
The  dreaded  prince  whose  will  was  fate ! 
She  gazed  on  many  a  princely  port, 
Might  well  have  ruled  a  royal  court ; 
On  many  a  splendid  garb  she  gazed — 
Then  turned  bewildered  and  amazed. 
For  all  stood  bare ;  and,  in  the  room, 
Fitz-James  alone  wore  cap  and  plume. 
To  him  each  lady's  look  was  lent, 
On  him  each  courtier's  eye  was  bent; 
Midst  furs,  and  silks,  and  jewels  sheen, 
He  stood,  in  simple  Lincoln  green. 
The  center  of  the  glittering  ring — 
And  Snowdoun's  Knight  is  Scotland's  king ! 
As  wreath  of  snow  on  mountain  breast, 
Slides  from   the  rock  that  gave  it  rest, 
Poor  Ellen  glided  from  her  stay. 
And  at  the  Monarch's  feet  she  lay." 

— '■'■Lady  of  the  Lake"  ScoTT. 

The  splendor  and  brilliancy  of  the  description  of  Sir 
Lancelot  is  effected  by  the  employment  of  Radical  Stress. 
High  Pitch.  Orotund  Quality.  Rapid  Movement.  Concrete 
and  Discrete   Thirds,   Fifths,  and  Waves. 

"A  bow-shot  from  her  bower  eaves. 
He  rode  between  the  barley-sheaves. 
The  sun  came  dazzling  thro'  the  leaves. 
And  flamed  upon  the  brazen  greaves 

Of  bold  Sir  Lancelot. 
A  red-cross  knight  forever  kneel'd 
To  a  lady  in  his  shield, 
That  sparkled  on  the  yellow  field. 

Beside  remote  Shalott. 

"The  gemmy  bridle  glitter'd  free. 
Like  to  some  branch  of  stars  we  see 


Stress.  3 1 9 


Hung  in  the  golden  Galaxy. 
The  bridle  bells  rang  merrily 

As  he  rode  down  to  Camelot : 
And  from  his  blazon'd  baldric  slung 
A  mighty  silver  bugle  hung, 
And  as  he  rode  his  armor  rung, 

Beside  remote  Shalott. 

•  All  in  the  blue  unclouded  weather 
Thick-jewel'd  shone  the  saddle-leather, 
The  helmet  and  the  helmet-feather 
Burned  like  one  burning  flame  together. 

As  he  rOde  down  to  Camelot. 
As  often  thro'  the  purple  night. 
Below  the  starry  clusters  bright. 
Some  bearded  meteor,   trailing  light. 

Moves  over  still  Shalott. 

■  His  broad  clear  brow  in  sunlight  glow'd ; 
On  burnish'd  hooves  his  war-horse  trode; 
From  underneath  his  helmet  flow'd 
His  coal-black  curls  as  on  he  rode, 

As  he  rode  down  to  Camelot. 
From  the  bank  and  from   the  river 
He  flash'd  into  the  crystal  mirror, 
'  Tirra  lirra,'  by  the  river 

Sang  Sir  Lancelot." 

"  TJie  Lady  of  Shalott,''^  Tennyson. 


Forcible  Radical. 

21c.,  The  forcible,  emphatic,  or  impassioned  radical 
stress  varying  in  degree  from  vehement  explosion  to  an 
earnest  energy  of  abruptness,  is  expressive  of  all  passions 
or  ei  lotions  of  a  violent,  bold,  impetuous,  impulsive,  or  ener- 
getic character ;  as  strong  anger,  and  states  allied  to  it : 
wrat/ ,  rage,  impatience,  courage,  exultation,  and  imperious 
mirth 


Murdoch's  Elocution, 


The  abrupt  burst  of  violent  utterance  which  characterizes 
the  impassioned  vocality  of  fierce  anger,  issues  from  the 
organs  with  an  eruptive  blast  of  force  that  seems  at  times 
to  give  an  almost  superhuman  intensity  to  the  sound  of  the 
voice.  Thus,  when  "  the  goblin  full  of  wrath,"  in  his 
attempt  to  repel  the  arch  fiend  from  the  gate  of  his  infernal 
prison,  bursts  out  in  the  fierce  command,  "Back  to  thy 
punishment,  false  fugitive,"  the  emphatic  words  find 
utterance  in  the  most  impassioned  form  of  radical  stress. 
Aspirated  force  on  the  intensely  impassioned  radical  stress 
is  exemplified  in  Shylock's  vindictive  exclamation : 

"Cursed  be  my  tribe,   if  I  forgive  him." 

Nature's  primitive  language  of  impassioned  exclamation 
often  receives  its  power  and  intensity  of  expression  from 
the  vehement  explosion  of  sound  which  startles  the  ear 
with  its  instantaneous  burst  of  force,  as  in  the  outbreak  of 
angry  indignation  contained  in  the  following  words  of 
Beatrice : 

"  O  heaven,   that  I  were  a  man  ! — 

I  would  eat  his  heart  in  the  market-place." 

Or  in  the  sudden  terror  expressed  in  the  words  of  Juliet: 

"O!  look!  methinks  I  see  my  cousin's  ghost 
Seeking  out  Romeo  !  " 

Or  in  the  alarm  of  Lady  Macbeth : 

**Alack/  I  am  afraid  they  have  awak'd, 
And  'tis  not  done." 

Radical  stress  is  also  expressive  of  great  positiveness  in 
the  state  of  the  mind,  and  is,  therefore,  employed  in  im- 
perative words  of  command,  for  the  purpose  of  enforcing 
authority.      Thus,    in    the    military    commands.    Attention! 


Stress.  3  2 1 


Right, Face!  Shoulder  Arms !  March!  Halt!  Forward!  etc., 
it  is  t?  e  clear,  strong  explosion  of  the  forcible  radical  stress 
which  reaches  every  ear,  and  seems,  in  its  sudden  and  de- 
cisive character,  to  compel  attention  and  obedience. 

The  intermediate  degrees  of  force  in  the  radical  stress, 
lying  Detween  the  vehement  outburst  of  passionative  excite- 
ment and  the  merely  accidental  or  distinctive  form  of  this 
stress,  are  the  signs  of  impulsive  or  impetuous  earnestness 
of  feeling,  not  amounting  to  the  vehemence  of  ungoverned 
passion.  Thus,  in  the  eagerness  and  imaginative  fervor  of 
the  f«)llowing  -language  of  Juliet,  the  emphatic  syllables 
woulc  receive  this  simply  energetic  force  or  fullness  of  the 
radical  stress : 

"Gallop  apace,  ye  fiery  footed  steeds, 
Toward  Phoebus'  mansion;  such  a  waggoner 
As  Phaeton  would  whip  you  to  the  west, 
And  bring  in  cloudy  night  immediately." 

The  abrupt  explosive  enforcement  of  the  radical  stress  is 
the  only  means  of  giving  emphatic  distinction  or  expression 
to  iiimutable  syllables.  When,  therefore,  such  syllables 
requ  re  strong  emphasis,  it  must  be  accomplished  by  this 
stres ;,  as  in  the  expression  of  exultation  in  the  word  victory 
in  the  first  of  the  following  examples,  and  in  that  of  angry 
impatience  in  the  word  iteration  of  the  second: 

"  He  shook  the  fragment  of  his  blade  and  shouted  victory/" 

**What  needs  this  iterance,  woman?" 

235.  The  most  forcible  or  impassioned  form  of  radical 
stress,  like  all  other  extremes  of  expression,  is  to  be  em- 
plo}  ed  only  as  in  distinction  of  emphatic  words  or  phrases 
in  t  le  current  of  language.  It  should  never  form  a  drift 
in  utterance.  Where  it  gives  the  general  color  of  expres- 
sion to  a  succession  of  words,  however,  by  marking  the 
most  prominent,   those   that  are  subordinate  in   expression 


32  2  Murdoch's  Elocution. 

will  generally  take  on,  in  the  natural  consonancy  of  effects, 
some  degree  of  the  same  energetic  movement,  more  or  less 
diminished,  according  as  their  individual  value  shall  de- 
mand a  lesser  emphasis  or  simply  an  energetic  articulation. 

Only  a  persistent  and  disciplined  exercise  of  the  organs 
will  secure  that  command  over  them  by  which  syllables 
and  words  are  launched,  as  it  were,  from  the  mouth,  and 
swept  in  the  current  of  utterance  into  the  ear  in  compact, 
penetrating,  and  vivid  forms  of  forcible  expression. 

The  attention  has  been  repeatedly  directed  to  the  fact  of 
the  organic  act  of  occlusion  necessarily  preceding  the  rad- 
ical abruptness  of  sound.  This  occlusion  is  most  under 
command,  and  the  explosion  can  be  most  perfectly  given, 
on  syllables  beginning  with  a  tonic  element  or  with  an 
abrupt  one  preceding  a  tonic.  When  a  syllable  begins 
with  a  subtonic  or  atonic  which  is  not  abrupt,  a  clear  and 
forcible  radical  stress  is  not  practicable.  Some  extent  of 
abruptness  can  be  given,  however,  by  an  energetic  practice 
on  such  combinations. 

Suggestive  Exercises. 

216.  First  utter  words  in  columns  with  moderate,  then 
earnest,  then  vehement  radicai  stress.  Then  read  in  the 
sentence  form,  with  the  requisite  degree  of  force  and 
abruptness,  on  each  marked  syllable,  calculated  to  fully 
express  the  fierce  and  vehement  nature  of  the  language 
employed.  It  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  these  sentences 
have  been  arranged  only  with  an  eye  to  the  prescribed  oral 
effect;  they  present  within  a  limited  space  a  large  number 
of  words  fitted  to  the  expression  of  fierce  abruptness  and 
violent  emotion,  which  it  is  the  function  of  radical  stress  to 
enforce;  besides,  from  not  being  involved  and  inverted  in 
construction,  they  require  no  particular  exercise  of  mind  to 
grasp  their  meaning. 


Stress. 


323 


Burly, 

Trembling, 

Trumpets, 

Coward, 

Blatai 

t, 

Cowers, 

Clang, 

Depart, 

Boastc 

d, 

Manly, 

Hurl, 

Dishonored; 

Bragy( 

-d, 

Bearing, 

Back, 

Branded, 

Chall.: 

nged, 

Fearless, 

Crush, 

More, 

ChalL; 

nger, 

Champion, 

Antagonist, 

Falchion, 

Outck  1 

red, 

Outraged, 

Herald, 

Wield, 

Dastard, 

Innocence, 

Thunders, 

Honorable, 

Begg;. 

r, 

Hark, 

Recreant, 

Warfare. 

Th  mgh — bur\y — bla\.2,n\.  and  blus\.QX\Xig — he — f/?a/lenged  —  the  — 
chalV  nger — yet — the — out-dared — dastdixd— failed — to — meet  —  the  — 
charg  '.  —  He  —  had  —  boasted  —  and  bragged — of — his  — power — to  — 
fmrl-  -back — and — crush — his — an/o'^onist.  —  'behold —  the  —  result!  — 
A — b'gg2ir — for — mercy — kttee — is — bent — head  —  uncovered.  —  Trent- 
bling  — with— ^flir — he — cower?,  —  before  —  the  —  bold —  manly  —  bear- 
ing—of— the— ^arless — champion. — of — mnocence. 

H  irk ! — 't  is— the — trumpets' — clang — three — times — it — sounds. — 
Listea — to — the — herald's — voice — it — thunders— forth. —  J?ecrea.nt  — 
and-  -cowdixd — depart. — Dis/ionored — and  —  branded  —  never  —  more  — 
shall  —thou — hold — lance — in — rest — or— falchion — wield — in  —  honor- 
able- -warfare. 

E>ecutioner — blot — out — his — motto — and — strike — oj^ — his — spurs. — 
Hen  :eforth — let — the — name — of  —  Gaspard  —  Count  —  de  —  Burgo — 
be —  is — a — scoff— z. — mockery — and  —  a  —  by-vjord  —  to  —  all  —  honor- 
able -men. 

So  —adjudge — the — noble — peers — of —  this  —  high  —  court  —  abso- 
lute- -and — unalterable. 


i^n  excellent  practice  consists  in  taking  any  piece  of 
con  position,  abounding  in  strong  declamatory  or  dramatic 
passages,  and  subjecting  it  to  the  above  treatment,  first 
mal.ing  columns  of  words  of  accentual  or  emphatic  force, 
the  1  phrase  them,  and  finally  combine  in  the  form  of  sen- 
ten  :es. 

217.  The  precise  exactness  of  the  initial  opening  which 
is  nsisted  upon  as  a  requisite  of  elementary  practice  for 
the  purposes  of  vocal  discipline,  is  not  to  be  carried  into 
the  current  of  speech,  even  in  the  most  violent  utterance. 
Thj  organs  properly  trained  on  the  elements  will  respond 


324  MurdocJi  s  Elocution. 

unconsciously  to  the  fullest  requisites  of  precision  for  articu- 
lative  or  expressive  purposes. 

The  powerful  radical  of  passionative  utterance  thus 
placed  at  command  by  thorough  discipline  will  be  a  full, 
compact  body  of  sound,  suddenly  projected,  and  driven 
rapidly  through  the  rapid  concrete  with  a  concentrated 
power.  The  increased  volume  of  the  orotund  or  the  im- 
proved natural  voice,  gives  this  full  body  to  the  radical, 
relieving  it  from  any  thing  like  sharpness  or  barking  hard- 
ness. 

Imperative  Command. 

Explosive  Orotund,  changing  to  Aspirated,  Impassioned  Force. 
Thirds.      Wider  Inten>als  and   Waves. 


Gloster. — Stay  you,  that  bear  the  corse,   and  set  it  down. 
Anne. — What  black  magician  conjures  up  this  fiend, 
To  stop  devoted,  charitable  deeds? 

Gloster. —  Villains,  set  down  the  corse;  or,  by  Saint  Paul, 
I  '11  make  a  corse  of  him  that  disobeys. 
1st  Gent. — My  lord,  stand  back,  and  let  the  coffin  pass. 

Gloster. —  Unmannered  dog!   stand  thou  when  I  command: 
Advance  thy  halberd  higher  than  my  breast. 
Or,  by  Saint  Paul,   I  '11  strike  thee  to  my  foot, 
And  spurn  upon  thee,  beggar,  for  thy  boldness. 


Anne. —  Would  it  were  mortal  poison,  for  thy  sake! 
Gloster. — Never  came  poison  from  so  sweet  a  place. 

Anne. — Never  hung  poison  on  a  fouler  toad. 

Out  of  my  sight !    thou  dost  infect  mine  eyes. 
Gloster. — Thine  eyes,   sweet  lady,  have  infected  mine. 

Anne. — Would  they  were  basilisks,   to  strike  thee  dead! 
Gloster. — I  would  they  were,   that  I  might  die  at  once. 

—''Richard  III,'"  ShakespearJ^.'' 


Stress.  325 


Impassioned  Force. 

Oh,  for  a  tongue  to  curse  the  slave, 

Whose  treason,   like  a  deadly  blight, 
Comes  o'er  the  councils  of  the  brave, 

And  blasts  them  in  their  hour  of  might! 
May  life's  unblessed  cup  for  him 
Be  drugged  vi^ith  treacheries  to  the  brim, — 
With  hopes  that  but  allure  to  fly, 

With  joys  that  vanish  while  he  sips. 
Like  Dead  Sea  fruits  that  tempt  the  eye. 

But  turn  to  ashes  on  the  lips." 

^'■Denunciation''  Thomas  Moore. 


Radical  Stress. 

Ecplosive  orotund  quality  and  radical  stress,  in  its  differ- 
ent degrees  of  force,  from  the  merely  forcible  to  the  most 
violent  forms  of  utterance,  is  illustrated  in  the  following 
passige  from  Milton.  High  Pitch.  Wider  Concrete  and 
Discrete  Intervals. 

Whence  and  what  art  thou,   execrable  shape. 

That  darest,  though  grim  and  terrible,  advance 

Thy  miscreated  front  athwart  my  way 

To  yonder  gates  ?   through  them  I  mean  to  pass, 

That  be  assured,   without  leave  ask'd  of  thee : 

Retire,  or  taste  thy  folly;  and  learn  by  proof. 

Hell-born,  not  to  contend  with  Spirits  of  Heaven! 

To  whom  the  Goblin,  full  of  wrath,  replied : — 

Art   thou    that  traitor  angel,  art  thou  he. 

Who  first  broke  peace  in  heaven,  and  faith,   till  then 

Unbroken,  and  in  proud  rebellious  arms 

Drew  after  him  the  third  part  of  heaven's  sons 

Conjured  against  the  Highest ;  for  which  both  thou 

And  they,  outcast  from  God,  are  here  condemn'd, 

To  waste  eternal  days  in  woe  and  pain  ? 


326  Murdoch's  Elocution. 

And  reckon'st  thou  thyself  with  spirits  of  heaven, 
Hell-doom'd,  and  breathest  defiance  here  and  scorn, 
Where  I  reign  king,  and,   to  enrage  thee  more, 
Thy  king  and  lord  !     Back  to  thy  punishment, 
False  fugitive,  and  to  thy  speed  add  wings; 
Lest  with  a  whip  of  scorpions  I  pursue 
Thy  lingering,  or  with  one  stroke  of  this  dart 
Strange  horrour  seize  thee,  and  pangs  unfelt  before. 

The  difference  between  the  stately  movement  of  the 
epic,  and  the  more  colloquial,  dramatic  form  of  language, 
is  strongly  marked  in  the  following  passage,  which  calls  for 
the  aspirated  orotund  quality,  and  the  sharper  radical 
stress  peculiar  to  the  irascible  indignation  expressed  in 
Gloster's  words : 

Gloster. — They  do  me  wrongs  and  I  will  not  endure  it. — 
Who  are  they,  that  complain  unto  the  king. 
That  I,  forsooth,  am  stern,  and  lave  them  not? 
,By  holy  Paul,  they  love  his  grace  but  lightly, 
That  fill  his  ears  with  such  dissentious  rumors. 
Because  I  can  not  flatter,  and  speak  fair. 
Smile  in  men's  faces,  smooth,  deceive,  and  cog. 
Duck  with  French  nods,  and  apish  courtesy, 
I  must  be  held  a  rancorous  enemy. 
Can  not  a  plain  man  live,  and  think  no  harm, 
But  thus  his  simple  truth  must  be  abus'd 
By  silken,  sly,  insinuating  Jacks  ? 
Grey. — To  whom,  in  all  this  presence,  speaks  your  grace? 

Gloster. — To  thee,   that  hast  nor  honesty  nor  grace. 

When  have  I  injured  thee?   when  done  thee  wrong ^ 
Or  thee  ? — or  thee  ? — or  any  of  your  faction  ? 
K  plague  upon  you  alW'' 

— ^^  Richard  III,''  Shakespeare. 


Chapter  XXVI. 

Final  Stress. 

2::8.  Final  Stress  is  a  greater  or  less  enforcement  of 
the  final  part  of  the  syllabic  concrete.  Final  stress,  in  its 
mors  forcible  forms,  is  indicative  of  a  hasty  energy  in  the 
state  of  mind,  similar  to  that  expressed  by  energetic  radical 
strejs,  still  it  differs  from  the  latter  in  seeming  to  be  more 
the  result  of  a  comparative  predetermination  or  reflective 
will  directing  the  form  of  the  vocal  effort. 

Radical  stress  comes  with  an  instantaneous  and  almost 
involuntary  burst  from  the  organs,  in  the  opening  of  the 
syllibic  concrete;  but  in  the  final,  they  seem  to  be  in  con- 
scic  us  preparation,  as  it  were,  on  the  first  part  of  the  con- 
cre  e,  for  the  accumulation  or  concentration  of  effort  at  the 
close. 

]mal  stress  is,  therefore,  the  natural  means  for  express- 
ing all  mental  states  of  a  determined,  resolute,  or  willful 
chrracter;  such  as  earnest  resolve;  dogged  ox  fierce  obstinacy; 
stnng  complaint;  impatient  or  angry  willfulness;  earnest  con- 
vie  i  ion ;  fretful  impatience;  supplication,  etc.  It  may  express 
these  several  states  in  various  degrees,  from  the  light  color- 
ing of  a  syllable  or  word  by  the  energy  of  the  final  pres- 
sure on  some  moderate  interval  or  wave,  to  the  vivid  force 
of  the  strongest  jerk  of  sound,  at  the  close  of  wide  upward 
or  down-sweeping  intervals. 

?inal  stress  gives  intensity  to  the  interrogative  character 
of  the  wide-rising  intervals,  adding  in  its  more  forcible 
decree  the  effect  of  angry  impatience  to  the  intonation  of 

(327) 


328  Murdochs  Elocution. 

the  question,  while  it  enforces  in  all  cases  the  positiveness 
of  the  wide,  downward  intonation.  Indeed,  the  strongest 
emphasis  of  final  stress,  when  not  interrogative,  is  always 
combined  with  the  wider  downward  concretes  or  waves  ter- 
minating with  downward  constituents;  these  two  elements 
of  effect,  downward  intonation  and  final  stress,  naturally 
combining  to  express  the  most  determined  positiveness  of 
any  passionative  state. 

To  contrast  the  less  forcible  employment  of  final  stress 
with  its  strong  enforcement,  let  the  words,  /  will  not,  be 
uttered  with  simply  the  strong  determination  of  a  fixed 
resolve,  and  there  will  be  simply  a  firm  pressure  at  the 
close  of  the  descending  interval  on  will  not. 

Then  let  the  words  /  won't  be  uttered  in  the  angry,  im- 
patient manner  of  a  willful  child,  and  the  descending  posi- 
tive concrete  of  wonH  will  exhibit  that  forcible  jerk,  or 
sudden  powerful  accumulation  of  sound  at  its  termination, 
which  constitutes  final  stress  in  its  most  highly  expressive 
form. 

Final  stress  impresses  the  ear  too  strongly,  even  in  its 
lighter  degrees,  to  allow  of  its  frequent  and  continued  rep- 
etition as  a  drift  in  the  current  of  discourse.  It  should  be 
employed,  therefore,  only  to  mark  occasional  emphatic 
words,  or  successions  of  such  words  in  impressive  phrases, 
and  then  shaded  in  its  degrees  to  their  several  gradations 
of  emphatic  value.  For  exercises  for  practice  on  final 
stress  see  ^  147. 


Exercises  in  Final  Stress  in  Expression. 

HAUGHTY  determination  AND  VRiTf^.^Expulstve  Orotund. 
Impassioned  Force.     Falling  Fifths  and  Waves. 


Thou   tnayst^    thou  shall;  I  will  not  go  with  thee, 
I  will  instruct  my  sorrows  to  be  proud ; 


I 


Final  Stress.  329 


For  grief  is  proud,   and  makes  his  owner  stoop. 
To  me,  and  to  the  state  of  my  great  grief 
Lei  kings  assemble ;  for  my  grief's  so  great, 
That  no  supporter  but  the  huge  firm  earth 
Can  hold  it  up:  here  I  and  sorrows  sit; 
Here  is  my  throne,  bid  kings  come  bow  to  it.'''' 

— Shakespeare. 


AGONIZED  SUPPLICATION. — Aspirated  Quality.      Weeping    Ut- 
terance.     Waves.      Chromatic  Thirds  and  Fifths. 

"Too  hard  to  bear!   why  did  they  take  me  thence? 
O  God  Almighty,  blessed  Savior,    Thou 
That  did'st  uphold  me  on  my  lonely  isle. 
Uphold  me.  Father,  in  my  loneliness 
A  little  longer!  aid  me,  give  me  strength 
Not  to  tell  her,  never  to  let  her  know. 
Help  me  not  to  break  in  upon  her  peace. 
My  children  too !   must  I  not  speak  to  these  ? 
They  know  me  not.     I  should  betray  myself. 
Never ! — no  father's  kiss  for  me  ! — the  girl — 
So  like  her  mother,  and  the  boy,  my  son !  " 

— ''Enoch  Arden,''  Tennyson. 

WRETCHEDNESS  AND  DESPAIR. — Aspirated  Quality.  Sup- 
pr  'ssed  Force.  Deliberate  Movement.  Semitonic  Thirds  and 
ui  equal  Waves. 

"  Is  there  a  way  to  forget  to  think? 

At  your  age,  sir,  home,   fortune,  friends, 
A  dear  girl's  love, — but  I  took  to  drink, — 

The  same  old  story;  you  know  how  it  ends. 
If  you  could  have  seen  these  classic  features, — 

You  needn't  laugh,   sir;  they  were  not  then 
Such  a  burning  libel  on  God's  creatures: 

I  was  one  of  your  handsome  men  ! 

"You've  set  me  talking,  sir;  I'm  sorry; 

It  makes  me  wild  to  think  of  the  change! 
^  .  £.— 28. 


330  Murdoch's  Elocution. 

What  do  you  care  for  a  beggar's  story  ? 

Is  it  amusing  ?  you  find  it  strange  ? 
I  had  a  mother  so  proud  of  me ! 

'T  was  well  she  died  before — Do  you  know 
If  the  happy  spirits  in  heaven  can  see 

The  ruin  and  wretchedness  here  below  ?^^ 

— ««  The  Vagabonds,''  Trowbridge. 

DECLAMATORY  YOKC^.—Expulswe  Orotufid.  The  Energized 
Utterance  giving  a  final  pressure  to  the  Syllables.  Extended 
Waves  and  Wider  Intervals. 

•*  Mr.  President,  I  shall  enter  on  no  encomium  upon  Massachu- 
setts; she  needs  none.  There  she  is;  behold  her,  and  judge  for 
yourselves.  There  is  her  history ;  the  world  knows  it  by  heart.  The 
past,  at  least,  is  secure.  There  is  Boston,  and  Concord,  and  Lex- 
ington, and  Bunker  Hill;  and  there  they  will  remain  forever.  The 
bones  of  her  sons,  fallen  in  the  great  struggle  for  Independence, 
now  lie  mingled  with  the  soil  of  every  state,  from  New  England 
to  Georgia ;  and  there  they  will  lie  forever. 

"And,  sir,  where  American  Liberty  raised  its  first  voice,  and 
where  its  youth  was  nurtured  and  sustained,  there  it  still  lives,  in 
the  strength  of  its  manhood,  and  full  of  its  original  spirit.  If  dis- 
cord and  disunion  shall  wound  it ;  if  party  strife  and  blind  ambition 
shall  hawk  at  and  tear  it ;  if  folly  and  madness,  if  uneasiness  under 
salutary  and  necessary  restraint,  shall  succeed  in  separating  it  from 
that  Union,  by  which  alone  its  existence  is  made  sure, — it  will  stand, 
in  the  end,  by  the  side  of  that  cradle  in  which  its  infancy  was' 
rocked ;  it  will  stretch  forth  its  arm  with  whatever  of  vigor  it  may 
still  retain,  over  the  friends  who  gather  round  it ;  and  it  will  fall  at 
last,  if  fall  it  must,  amid  the  proudest  monuments  of  its  own  glory, 
and  on  the  very  spot  of  its  origin." 

''South  Carolina  and  Massachusetts y''  Webster. 

DECLAMATORY  FORCE. — Expulsive  Orotund.     Deliberate  Move- 
ment.     Wider  Intervals  and  Unequal  Waves. 

**  Lochiel !  Lochiel !  beware  of  the  day 
When  the  Lowlands  shall  meet  thee  in  battle  array! 
For  a  field  of  the  dead  rushes  red  on  my  sight, 


Final  Stress.  331 


And  the  clans  of  Culloden  are  scattered  in  flight : 
They  rally,  they  bleed,  for  their  kingdom  and  crown; 
Woe,  woe  to  the  riders  that  trample  them  down. 

O  crested  Lochiel !  •  the  peerless  in  might. 

Whose  banners  arise  on  the  battlements'  height, 

Heaven's  fire  is  around  thee,   to  blast  and  to  burn ; 

Return  to  thy  dwelling !  all  lonely  return  ! 

For  the  blackness  of  ashes  shall  mark  where  it  stood. 

And  a  wild  mother  scream  o'er  her  famishing  brood," 

— ''LochieVs   Warning,''  CAMPBELL. 


IMPivTIENCE,    AND    STERN,    IMPETUOUS    COMMAND. — Aspirated 

Expulsive    Orotund.      Falling  Fifths  and  Discrete   Rising 


2'hirds. 


"But  William  answer'd  short: 
'  I  can  not  marry  Dora ;  by  my  life, 
I  will  not  marry  Dora. '     Then  the  old  man 
Was  wroth,  and  doubled  up  his  hands,  and  said: 
'You  will  not,  boy!  you  dare  to  answer  thus! 
But  in  my  time  a  father's  word  was  law, 
And  so  it  shall  be  now  for  me.     Look  to  it; 
Consider,  William :  take  a  month  to  think, 
And  let  me  have  an  answer  to  my  wish ; 
Or  by  the  Lord  that  made  me,  you  shall  pack. 
And  nevermore  darken  my  doors  again.'  " 

— ''Dora,"  Tennyson. 


Chapter  XXVII. 
Median  Stress. 

219.  Median  Stress  has  been  shown  to  be  an  enforce- 
ment of  the  middle  of  the  concrete,  giving  the  effect  of  a 
sweUing  fullness  to  that  part  of  the  syllabic  utterance.. 

This  stress  sets  forth  intensity  of  voice  with  greater  dig- 
nity and  elegance  than  all  the  other  forms  of  force.  It  is 
used,  therefore,  as  the  natural  means  of  enforcing  those 
sentiments  and  emotions  that  are  combined  with,  or  have 
their  root  in,  elevated  thought  and  the  fervor  of  the  imag- 
ination. The  swell  of  the  median  has  a  greater  or  less 
degree  of  fullness,  extent  and  enforcement,  according  as 
the  feelings  it  expresses  have  more  or  less  of  ardor,  depth, 
and  grandeur. 

It  may,  then,  appear  under  all  modifications  of  degree, 
from  the  gentle  swell  which  marks  the  tranquil  flowing  out 
of  the  voice  on  the  long  quantities  of  the  language  of  quiet, 
pathetic  sentiment  or  solemnity,  to  the  firm  and  swelling 
energy  which  enforces  the  emphasis  of  language  indicative 
of  a  high  degree  of  power,  combined  with  dignity  or  ele- 
vation of  feeling.  In  its  lighter  forms,  and  combined  with 
the  lesser  waves,  median  stress  may  prevail  as  a  drift  of 
dignified  expression;  but,  when  its  more  vivid  degrees  are 
blended  with  the  extended  intonation  of  the  wider  intervals 
and  waves,  it  should  only  be  used  as  an  occasional  em- 
phasis, otherwise  it  will  degenerate  into  bombastic  ex- 
cess. 

(332) 


Median  Stress.  333 


220.  The  gentle  force  of  the  median  swell,  sometimes 
called  the  temporal  pressure^  should  be  placed  on  every 
syllable  of  quantity  in  the  following  example,  which  has 
already  been  given  to  illustrate  the  use  of  the  wave  of  the 
seconc.  Median  stress  and  this  wave,  given  with  long 
quantity,  are  almost  invariably  combined,  as  they  unite  to 
express  the  same  emotions  of  dignity  and  grandeur: 

'♦  High  on  a  throne  of  royal  state,  which  far 
Outshone  the  weaUh  of  Ormus  and  of  Ind." 

Th(  wave  could  be  extended  to  the  extent  of  a  third  in 
a  fulL.T  expression  of  elevated  admiration.  This  example 
furnisies  an  instance  of  a  drift  of  the  median  stress.  On 
the  o;her  hand,  we  have  it  as  a  solitary  and  impressive 
emph  isis  in  the  dignified  but  strong  rebuke  contained  in 
the  fdlowing  language: 

"And  Nathan  said  unto  David,  thou  art  the  man!" 

Here  the  swell  may  be  given  on  a  descending  fifth  or 
octav;,  or  on  a  wave  of  the  third  or  fifth.  The  effect  of 
the  riedian  stress  is  much  enhanced  by  the  tremor,  and 
where  it  is  thus  given  with  the  full  volume  of  the  orotund, 
it  exjTCSses  the  highest  effect  of  sublimity  and  grandeur  of 
whicli  the  human  voice  is  capable.  It  should  be  thus 
applied  to  the  following  lines: 

••  Thou^  too,  sail  on^  O  Ship  of  State ! 
Sail  on^  O   Union,  strong  and  great!  " 

22:.  This  form  of  expression  is  utterly  incompatible  with 
haste  or  violence,  just  as  the  forcible  forms  of  the  other 
stres  es  are  incompatible  with  grace  and  deliberation.  In 
the  ( ase  of  the  latter,  the  delicate  attenuation  of  the  equa- 
ble ( oncrete  gives  way  to  the  impelling  power  of  energy  or 


334  Murdoch's  Elocution. 

vehemence,  while  in  the  former  it  is  always  preserved  by 
the  restraining  dignity  of  the  feeling,  however  deep  and 
strong. 

Median  stress  thus  gives  an  agreeable  smoothness  to  the 
expression  of  all  those  modifications  of  surprise^  admiration, 
joy,  hope,  exultation,  etc.,  which  do  not  exceed  the  bounds 
of  dignity.  It  also  expresses  sublime  exaltation,  terrible  or 
solemn  warning,  reverential  and  deep  pathos,  dignified  sup- 
plication, smooth  insinuation,  etc.  It  is  thus  preeminently 
the  element  of  effect  in  the  language  of  poetry  and  exalted 
imagination,  not  strongly  dramatic. 

Median  stress  is  one  of  the  most  important  elements  in 
the  whole  range  of  vocal  expression,  but  one  that  requires 
the  most  careful  artistic  handling,  as  it  is  very  apt  to  be- 
come deformed  into  an  offensive  drawling  or  monotone 
when  the  organs  are  not  well  skilled  by  elementary  prac- 
tice in  its  execution;  for,  like  quantity  in  syllables  with 
which  it  is  inseparably  allied,  it  is  an  element  of  voice 
least  employed  in  the  ordinary  colloquial  uses  of  the  latter, 
hence  the  least  ready  to  respond  to  the  efforts  of  unedu- 
cated utterance.  As  all  exercises,  therefore,  on  this  stress, 
serve  to  develop  a  power  over  quantity  also,  its  ele- 
mentary practice  can  not  be  too  strongly  insisted  upon. 

The  quotation  from  the  Psalms,  given  below,  calls  for 
extended  quantity  and  median  stress: 

"O  Lord,  how  manifold  are  thy  works!  in  wisdom  hast  thou 
made  them  all:  the  earth  is  full  of  thy  riches." 

Exercises  for  Practice  on  Median  Stress. 

Let  description  of  this  stress  be  carefully  reviewed  (see 
^  141) ;  and  its  exercise  on  elements  and  syllables,  as 
there  directed,  be  carefully  repeated,  both  in  the  natural 
voice  and  the  orotund,  until  its  mechanical  execution  is  at 
the  command  of  the  organs. 


Median  Stress.  335 


REFLECTION. 

Effusive  Orotund.     Subdued  Force.     Slow  Movement,      Waves 
and  Prevalent  Monotone. 


**  'Tis  a  time 
For  memory  and  for  tears.     Within  the  deep, 
Still  chambers  of  the  heart,  a  spectre  dim. 
Whose  tones  are  like  the  wizard  voice  of  Time, 
Heard  from  the  tomb  of  ages,  points  its  cold 
And  solemn  finger  to  the  beautiful 
And  holy  visions,  that  have  passed  away, 
And  left  no  shadow  of  their  loveliness 
On  the  dead  waste  of  life.     That  spectre  lifts 
The  coffin-lid  of  Hope  and  Joy  and  Love, 
And,  bending  mournfully  above  the  pale. 
Sweet  forms  that  slumber  there,  scatters  dead  flowers 
O'er  what  has  passed  to  nothingness." 

— Geo.  D.  Prentice. 


TRANQUILLITY. 

Natural   Quality.   -Moderate    Force.      Gentle    Swell.      Waves 
and  Thirds. 

"How  beautiful  this  night!     The  balmiest  sigh, 
That  vernal  zephyrs  breathe  in  evening's  ear. 
Were  discord  to  the  speaking  quietude, 
That  wraps  this  nerveless  scene.     Heaven's  ebon  vault. 
Studded  with  stars  unconquerably  bright. 
Through  which  the  moon's  unclouded  grandeur  rolls. 
Seems  like  a  canopy  which  love  had  spread 
To  curtain  her  sleeping  world." 

— Shelley. 


33^  Murdoch' s  Elocution. 


PATRIOTISM. 

Further  Swells  approaching  Poetic  Utterance.     Animated  Style. 
Waves  and  Thirds. 

"  Wherever,  O  man,  God's  sun  first  beamed  upon  thee — where 
the  stars  of  heaven  first  shone  above  thee, — where  His  lightnings 
first  declared  His  omnipotence,  and  His  storm  and  wind  shook  thy 
soul  with  pious  awe, — there  are  thy  affections,  there  is  thy  country. 
Where  the  first  human  eye  bent  lovingly  over  thy  cradle, — where 
thy  mother  first  bore  thee  joyfully  on  her  bosom,  where  thy  father 
engraved  the  words  of  wisdom  on  thy  heart, — there  are  thy  affec- 
tions, there  is  thy  country." 

— M.  E.  Arndt. 


HOPE. 

Natural  Quality.     Effusive  Utterance.     Gentle  Force.     Waves, 
Thirds,  and  Fifths. 

"With  thee,  sweet  Hope,  resides  the  heavenly  light, 
That  pours  remotest  rapture  on  the  sight; 
Thine  is  the  charm  of  life's  bewilder'd  way. 
That  calls  each  slumbering  passion  into  play. 
Eternal  Hope !  when  yonder  spheres  sublime 
Peal'd  their  first  notes  to  sound  the  march  of  time, 
Thy  joyous  youth  began — but  not  to  faSe. 
When  all  the  sister  planets  have  decay'd; 
When  wrapt  in  fire  the  realms  of  ether  glow. 
And  heaven's  last  thunder  shakes  the  world  below; 
Thou,  undismayed,  shalt  o'er  the  ruins  smile, 
And  light  thy  torch  at  Nature's  funeral  pile." 

—Campbell. 

imitative. 

These   verses   accurately   resemble  the  gentle  swell  and 
fall  of  the  Bay  of  Naples.     The  swell  of  the  median  stress 


Median  Stress.  ^,2)1 

is  singularly  applicable  to  their  delicious  harmony.     Full 
Natural  Quality. 

"Yon  deep  bark  goes 

Where  traffic  blows 
From  lands  of  sun  to  lands  of  snows; — 

This  happier  one, 

Its  course  is'  run 
From  lands  of  snow  to  lands  of  sun. 

•*0  happy  ship, 
To  rise  and  dip. 
With  the  blue    crystal    at  your  lip  I 
O  happy  crew, 
My  heart  with  you 
Sails,  and  sails,  and  sings  anew !  " 

—''Drifting;'  Read. 


EXHORTATION. 

Expulsive  Orotund  Quality.     Monotone  and  Wave. 

♦*So  live,   that  when  thy  summons  comes  to  join 
The  innumerable  caravan,  which  moves 
To  that  mysterious  realm,  where  each  shall  take 
His  chamber  in  the  silent  halls  of  death, 
Thou  go  not,  like  the  quarry-slave  at  night. 
Scourged  to  his  dungeon,  but,  sustained  and  soothed 
By  an  unfaltering  trust,  approach  thy  grave, 
Like  one  who  wraps  the  drapery  of  his  couch 
About  him,  and  lies  down  to  pleasant  dreams." 

— W.  C.  Bryant. 


M.  E.-2 


Chapter  XXVIII. 

Thorough  Stress.     Compound  Stress.     Loud  Concrete. 

Thorough  Stress. 

222.  This  stress  is  effected  by  carrying  the  radical  full- 
ness and  force  through  the  entire  extent  of  the  concrete  or 
wave.  It  may  be  exemplified  by  the  rude,  burly  no  of 
ignorant  indifference.  Its  expressive  character  in  speech, 
if  continued  as  a  current  style,  is  that  of  coarse  bravado 
or  blunt  rudeness,  bluff  arrogance,  bragging  defiance,  etc. 
It  has,  then,  no  place  in  the  elegant  expression  of  speech, 
though  it  may  be  used  to  occasionally  distinguish  some  em- 
phatic syllable  that  does  not  require  the  abruptness  of  the 
radical,  and  yet  will  not,  from  its  structure,  permit  any 
form  of  stress  requiring  extension,  as  in  the  following  lines: 

"This  knows  my  punisher,  therefore,  as  far 
From  granting  he,  as  I  from  begging  peace." 

Examples  of  Thorough  Stress. 

FIERCE  COMMAND. — Aspirated  Orotund.     Impassioned  Force. 
Rapid  Utterance. 

**I  conjure  you,  by  that  which  you  profess, 
(Howe'er  you  come  to  know  it,)  answer  me. 
Though  you  untie  the  winds,  and  let  them  fight 
Against  the  churches;  though  the  yesty  waves 
Confound  and  swallow  navigation  up ; 
(338) 


Thorough  Stress.  339 


Though  bladed  corn  be  lodged,  and  trees  blown  down; 

Though  castles  topple  on  their  warders'  heads; 

Though  palaces,  and  pyramids,   do  slope 

Their  heads  to  their  foundations;   though  the  treasure 

Of  nature's  germins  tumble  all  together. 

Even  till  destruction  sicken, — answer  me 

To  what  I  ask  you." 

—  "■Macbeth,'"    SHAKESPEARE. 

Leave  wringing  of  your  hands.     Peace;  sit  you  down, 

And  let  me  wring  your  heart ;  for  so  I  shall, 

If  it  be  made  of  penetrable  stuff; 

If  damned  custom  have  not  brazed  it  so, 

That  it  be  proof  and  bulwark  against  sense. 

No,  by  the  rood,  not  so. 
You  are  the  queen,  your  husband's  brother's  wife. 

What  wilt  thou  do?     Thou  wilt  not  murder  me? 
Help,  help,  ho!" 

— "  HamleL"  Shakespeare. 


DENi  NCiATiON  AND  CONTEMPT. — Orotund  Quality,  changing 
to  Aspirated  Guttural.  Impassioned  Force,  Wide  Intervals 
<ini  Unequal  Waves. 

' '  War !   war !  no  peace  !  peace  is  to  me  a  war. 
O  Lymoges!     O  Austria!   thou  dost  shame 
That  bloody  spoil.      Thou  slave,  thou  wretch,  thou  coward, 
Thou  little  valiant,  great  in  villainy ! 
Thou  ever  strong  upon  the  stronger  side! 
Thou  fortune's  champion,   that  dost  never  fight 
But  when  her  humorous  ladyship  is  by 
To  teach  thee  safety!   thou  art  perjured,   too, 
And  sooth'st  up  greatness.     What  a  fool  art  thou, 
A  ramping  fool;  to  brag,   and  stamp,   and  swear, 
^Upon  my  party !     Thou  cold-blooded  slave, 
Hast  thou  not  spoke  like  thunder  on  my  side? 
Been  sworn  my  soldier  ?  bidding  me  depend 


340  Murdoch! s  Elocution. 

upon  thy  stars,  thy  fortune,  and  thy  strength? 
And  dost  thou  now  fall  over  to  my  foes? 
Thou  wear  a  lion's  hide !  doff  it  for  shame, 
And  hang  a    calf's-skin  on  those  recreant  limbs." 

— Shakespeare. 


Compound  Stress. 

223.  Compound  stress  is  used  only  in  cases  of  the  high- 
est intensification  of  feeling.  It  combines  the  force  of 
both  the  radical  and  of  the  final  stress.  Unlike  the 
other  stresses  (except  the  thorough),  it  has,  obviously,  no 
lighter  degrees,  being  always  employed  to  express  those 
passionate  emphases  of  vehement  feeling  or  intense  energy 
to  which  the  other  forms  are  inadequate.  It  combines  the 
expressive  characteristics  of  both  the  stresses  which  com- 
pose it;  owing  to  its  extreme  character,  it  is  only  an  occa- 
sional requisite  in  utterance.  It  would  be  employed  on  the 
words  marked  in  the  following  intensely  energized  shout  of 
encouraging  command: 

^^  Arm,  warriors,  arm  for  fight;  X\\&  foe  at  hand, 
Whom  fled  we  thought,  will  save  us  long   pursuit  this  day." 

^^  Draw  archers,  draw  your  arrows  to  the  head.'''' 

It  marks  with  great  force  the  wide  interval  of  violently 
passionate  interrogation,  thus : 

"Must  /give  way  to  your  rash  choler? 
Must  I  hQ  frighted,  when  a  madman  stares?" 

* 
"Dost  thou  come  here  to  whine,   to  outface  me  with  leaping  in 
her  grave  ?  " 


Loud  Concrete.  341 


The  Lou©  Concrete. 

224.  The  loud  concrete  has  more  breadth  than  the  equa- 
ble, and  less  abruptness  than  thorough  stress.  It  may  be 
used  to  distinguish  words  in  a  current  of  lighter  force,  or 
it  may  be  used  as  a  drift,  in  which  case  the  effect  is  simply 
that  of  speaking  with  sustained  force. 

In  all  forcible  utterance,  every  syllable  that  is  not 
marked  by  some  of  the  peculiar  forms  of  stress  described, 
pass(is  through  the  loud  concrete.  By  its  means,  then, 
who  e  phrases  or  sentences  become  forte. 


Examples  of  the  Loud  Concrete. 

"Lend,   lend  your  wings!     I  mount,  I  fly! 
O  Grave !   where  is  thy  victory  ? 
O  Death !   where  is  thy  sting  !  " 

Francois. — O  !  my  Lord  ! 

Richelieu. — Thou  art  bleeding! 

Francois. — A  scratch — I  have  not  faiPd! 

F^r  studies  in  expression  on  the  Tremor  see  ^152. 


Semitone. 

"  The  beauty  of  Israel  is  slain  upon  thy  high  places:  how  are  the 
migaty  fallen!  Tell  it  not  in  Gath,  publish  it  not  in  the  streets 
of  .  .skelon ;  lest  the  daughters  of  the  Philistines  rejoice,  lest  the 
dauf  hters  of  the  uncircumcised  triumph.  Ye  mountains  of  Gilboa, 
let  ;  here  be  no  dew,  neither  let  there  be  rain,  upon  you,  nor  fields 
of  c  ferings :  for  there  the  shield  of  the  mighty  is  vilely  cast  away, 
the  shield  of  Saul,  as  though  he  had  not  been  anointed  with  oil. 
Froi  1  the  blood  of  the  slain,  from  the  fat  of  the  mighty,  the  bow  of 
Jon  than   turned   not  back,    and    the    sword    of    Saul    returned    not 


342  Murdoch! s  Elocution. 

empty.  Saul  and  Jonathan  were  lovely  and  pleasant  in  their  lives, 
and  in  death  they  were  not  divided.  They  were  swifter  than 
eagles,  they  were  stronger  than  lions.  I  am  distressed  for  thee,  my 
brother  Jonathan :  very  pleasant  hast  thou  been  unto  me :  thy  love 
to  me  was  wonderful,  passing  the  love  of  women.  How  are  the 
mighty  fallen,  and  the  weapons  of  war  perished !  " 

—  The  Bible. 

Tremor, 
exultant  tremor. 

**  Be  it  said  in  letters  both  bold  and  bright : 
Here  is  the  steed  that  saved  the  day 
By  carrying  Sheridan  into  the  fight 
From  Winchester — twenty  miles  away." 

— Read. 


LAUGHING    IRONY. 

"A  fool,  a  fool! — I  met  a  fool  i'  th'  forest, 
A  motley  fool ; — a  miserable  world  ! — 
As  I  do  live  by  food,   I  met  a  fool; 
Who  laid  him  down,   and  bask'd  him  in  the  sun, 
And  rail'd  on  lady  Fortune  in  good  terms, 
In  good  set  terms, — and  yet  a  motley  fool. 
'Good  morrow,  fool,'  quoth  I;   'No,  sir,'  quoth  he, 
*  Call  me  not  fool,  till  heav'n  hath  sent  me  fortune ; 
And  then  he  drew  a  dial  from  his  poke : 
And  looking  on  it  with  lack-lustre  eye. 
Says,  very  wisely,  'It  is  ten  o'clock; 
Thus  may  we  see,'  quoth  he,   '  how  the  world  wags ; 
'T  is  but  an  hour  ago,  since  it  was  nine ; 
And  after  one  hour  more, 'twill  be  eleven; 
And  so,  from  hour  to  hour,  we  ripe  and  ripe. 
And  then,   from  hour  to  hour,   we  rot  and  rot, 
And   thereby  hangs  a  tale.'     When  I  did  hear 
The  motley  fool  thus  moral  on  the  time, 
My  lungs  began  to  crow  like  chanticleer. 
That  fools  should  be  so  deep  contemplative, 


Tremor.  343 


And  I  did  laugh,  sans  intermission, 

An  hour  by  his  dial. — O  noble  fool ! 

A  worthy  fool!   Motley's  the  only  wear." 

— "-As  You  Like  It,'"  Shakespeare. 


GRIEF,    MIXED  WITH  PITY,    ASSUMING    A    SMILE. 

"  Grief  fills  the  room  up  of  my  absent  child, 
Lies  in  his  bed,  walks  up  and  down  with  me ; 
Puts  on  his  pretty  looks,   repeats  his  words. 
Remembers  me  of  all  his  gracious  parts. 
Stuffs  out  his  vacant  garments  with  his  form  ; 
Then,  have  I  reason  to  be  fond  of  grief." 

— •  ♦  King  John, ' '  Shakespeare. 


LOVE   COMPLAINING. 

Ay,  Proteus,  but  that  life  is  alter'd  now; 

I  have  done  penance  for  contemning  love. 

Whose  high  imperious  thoughts  have  punish'd  me 

With  bitter  fasts,  with  penitential  groans. 

With  nightly  tears,   and  daily  heart-sore  sighs: 

For  in  revenge  of  my  contempt  of  love. 

Love  hath  chas'd  sleep  from  my  enthralled  eyes. 

And  made  them  watchers  of  mine  own  heart's  sorrow. 

O  gentle  Proteus,  love  's  a  mighty  lord  ; 

And  hath  so  humbled  me,  as,  I  confess, 

There  is  no  woe  to  his  correction, 

Nor,  to  his  service,  any  joy  on  earth; 

Now,  no  discourse  except  it  be  of  love  ; 

Now  can  I  break  my  fast,   dine,  sup,  and  sleep, 

Upon  the  very   naked   name  of  love." 

— "  Two  Getitlemen  of  Verona,'"  SHAKESPEARE. 

"Stay,  lady! — stay  for  mercy's  sake, 
And  hear  a  helpless  orphan's  tale ; 
Ah !   sure  my  looks  must  pity  wake — 

'T  is  want  that  makes  my  cheek  so  pale ! 


344  Murdoch's  Elocution, 

Yet  I  was  once  a  mother's  pride, 

And  my  brave  father's  hope  and  joy : 

But  in  the  Nile's  proud  fight  he  died — 
And  I  am  now  an  Orphan  Boy. 

**  Poor,  foolish  child ;  how  pleased  was  I, 
When  news  of  Nelson's  victory  came. 
Along  the  crowded  streets  to  fly, 

And  see  the  lighted  windows  flame ! 
To  force  me  home  my  mother  sought — 

She  could  not  bear  to  see  my  joy! 
For  with  my  father's  life  'twas  bought — 
And  made  me  a  poor  Orphan  Boy.'' 

—''Orphan  Boy,'"    Mrs.  Opie. 

The  tremor  is  heard  in  the  complaint  caused  by  extreme 
pain. 

*'  Search  there ;  nay,  probe  me ;  search  my  wounded  veins — 
Pull,  draw  it  out — 

Oh,  I  am  shot!     A  forked  burning  arrow 
Sticks  across  my  shoulders :  the  sad  venom  flies 
Like  light'ning  through  my  flesh,  my  blood,  my  marrow. 
Ha !  what  a  change  of  torments  I  endure ! 
A  bolt  of  ice  runs  hissing  through  my  bowels  : 
'Tis,  sure,  the  arm  of  death;  give  me  a  chair; 
Cover  me  for  I  freeze,  and  my  teeth  chatter, 
And  my  knees  knock  together." 

— "■Alexander,''''  Lee. 

Pathetic  and  subdued  emotion  requires  pure  tone,  abated 
force,  slow  movement,  plaintive  semitonic  wave,  down- 
ward slide,  median  stress. 


'  And  Ardennes  waves  above  them  her  green  leaves, 
Dewy  with  nature's  tear-drops,  as  they  pass, 
Grieving,  if  aught  inanimate  e'er  grieves, 
Over  the  unreturning  brave, — alas  ! 
Ere  evening,  to  be  trodden,  like  the  grass, 
Which  now  beneath  them,  but  above  shall  grow 


I 


Tremor.  345 


In  its  next  verdure,  when  this  fiery  mass 
Of  living  valor,  rolling  on  the  foe, 

And  burning  with  high  hope,  shall  moulder  cold  and  low." 
— ''Battle  of  Waterloo,'"  Byron. 

Tie  tremor  of  merriment  is  heard  in  Gratiano's  words, 
whei  he  tries  to  rouse  Antonio  from  his  melancholy: 

"Let  me  play  the  Fool: 
With  mirth  and  laughter  let  old  wrinkles  comes 
And  let  my  liver  rather  heat"  with  wine. 
Than  my  heart  cool  with  mortifying  groans. 
Why  should  a  man,  whose  blood  is  warm  within, 
Sit  like  his  grandsire  cut  in  alabaster? 
Sleep  when  he  wakes?  and  creep  into  the  jaundice 
By  being  peevish?     I  tell  thee  what,  Antonio, 
I  love  thee,  and  it  is  my  love  that  speaks; 
There  are  a  sort  of  men,  whose  visages 
Do  cream  and  mantle  like  a  standing  pond; 
And  do  a  willful  stillness  entertain, 
With  purpose  to  be  dress'd  in  an  opinion 
Of  wisdom,  gravity,  profound  conceit ; 
As  who  shall  say,  /  am  Sir  Oracle,     , 
And  when  I  ope  my  lips,  let  no  dog  bark! 
I'll  tell  thee  more  of  this  another  time; 
But  fish  not,  with  this  melancholy  bait. 
For  this  fool  gudgeon,   this  opinion. 
Come,  good  Lorenzo :  Fare  ye  well,  a  while ; 
I'll  end  my  exhortation  after  dinner." 

— '' Merchant  of  Venice,''  SHAKESPEARE. 

"  Last,  came  Joy's  ecstatic  trial ; 
He,  with  viny  crown,  advancing. 
First  to  the  lively  pipe  his  hand  addressed; 
But  soon  he  saw  the  brisk  awakening  viol, 
Whose  sweet  entrancing  voice  he  loved  the  best. 
They  would  have  thought,  who  heard  the  strain,, 
They  saw,  in  Tempe's   vale,  her  native  maids, 
Amidst  the  festal-sounding  shades, 


346  Murdoch' s  Elocution, 

To  some  unwearied  minstrel  dancing; 

While,  as  his  flying  fingers  kissed  the  strings, 

Love  framed  with  Mirth  a  gay,  fantastic  round ; 

(Loose  were  her  tresses  seen,  her  zone  unbound ;) 

And  he,  amidst  his  frolic  play, — 

As  if  he  would  the  charming  air  repay,— 

Shook  thousand  odors  from  his  dewy  wings." 

— '•'■Ode  to  the  Passions^''  CoLLiNS. 


Concluding  Remarks  on  Stress. 

225.  In  our  detailed  study  of  the  stresses,  it  has  been 
shown  that  no  one  form  should  ever  prevail  as  an  exclu- 
sive mode  of  emphasis  or  drift  during  any  continuation  of 
the  current  of  speech.  Though  one  particular  stress  may 
give  the  general  color  or  expressive  character  to  the  lan- 
guage, there  will  still  be  a  constantly  intermingling  em- 
ployment of  the  other  forms,  determined  not  only  by  the 
peculiar  *»xpression  to  be  conveyed  by  the  individual  words 
to  be  distinguished,  but  also  by  their  syllabic  structure.  In 
this  w3-y^  life  and  meaning  are  imparted  to  language  with 
the  true  ^^ariety  of  nature.  Thus,  in  the  following  line  of 
poetry  coming  under  the  intermediate  or  admirative  form 
of  expression : 

♦♦Roll  on,  thou  deep  and  dark  blue  ocean — roll!" 

Many  of  the  quantities  are  long,  and  in  accordance  with 
the  sentiment  would  take  the  gende  median  swell;  but 
there  are  two  important  syllables  in  the  sentence,  deep  and 
dark,  which,  owing  to  their  peculiar  structure,  would  re- 
ceive their  expressive  color  much  more  naturally  from  final 
pressure  and  light  radical  stress  respectively.  To  enforce 
either  of  these  words,  however,  with  a  forcible  degree  of 
either  of   the  stresses  named,    would   be   inappropriate   to 


Stress.  347 

the  expression  of  the  tranquil  grandeur  of  the  language, 
but  the  use  of  the  light  forms  named  does  not  mar  the 
unity  of  effects,  while  it  relieves  the  utterance  of  the  mo- 
notony which  would  arise  from  an  unvarying  use  of  one 
elen.ent  of  effect. 

Tne  preceding  furnishes  an  example  of  variation  where 
thera  is  a  prevailing  drift.  But  the  same  principle  holds, 
onl}  more  strongly,  in  varying  the  employment  of  stress  in 
the  strong  emphases  of  more  energetic  or  passionative  lan- 
gua^e;  the  various  forms  intermingling  according  to  the 
pec  iliar  character  of  the  syllabic  structure,  and  the  indi- 
vidual expression  of  the  words  to  be  distinguished.  Thus, 
in  the  following  line  of  King  Lear's  frenzied  apostrophe  to 
to  1  he  elements  : 

^^  Blow,   wind,  and  crack  your  cheeks!    rage!   blow P^ 

H'here  is  provision  in  the  form  of  the  syllables  for  every 
form  of  forcible  stress.  For  example,  the  first  emphatic 
sylable,  blow,  may  take  compound  stress  on  an  extended 
wa/e;  crack,  strong  radical;  cheeks,  final  or  radical;  rage, 
find  with  continued  wave;  and  the  last  blow,  swelling 
median  with  tremor  on  extended  wave.  Another  example 
from  Shakespeare  furnishes  a  similar  instance  of  language 
ad  nitting,  from  its  syllabic  structure,  of  this  beautiful 
va  iety  in  the  enforcement  of  its  emphasis : 

**  My  bounty  is  as  boundless  as  the  sea, 
My  love  as  deep ;  the  more  I  give  to  thee, 
The  more  I  have,   for  both  are  infinite." 

This  is  the  language  of  eager  love,  earnest  but  not  vio- 
le  It.  Boundless  may  be  distinguished  by  the  median  swell 
(v  ith  tremor),  and  deep  by  final  stress;  give  may  receive 
m  )derate  radical  stress ;  have,  final ;  and  infinite,  the  full 
sv  ell  of  median  with  tremor. 


34^  Murdoch's  Elocution. 

The  preceding  examples  will  serve  to  illustrate  the  great 
variety  of  expression  that  may  be  given  to  language  by  a 
practical  knowledge  of  stress.  The  varied  employment  of 
the  different  forms  and  degrees  of  stress  constitutes  the 
effect  of  light  and  shade  in  the  artistic  coloring  of  speech. 
As  the  painter,  by  constant  study  and  practice,  learns  to 
blend  his  colors,  shade,  and  tone,  thus  heightening  his 
effects,  so  must  the  student  of  elocution,  by  persistent 
effort,  master  the  mechanical  use  of  the  voice,  and  grad- 
ually learn  to  throw  feeling  into  words,  until  they  stand  out 
in  bold  relief  as  the  expositors  of  thought,  sentiment,  and 
passion. 

The  ability  to  grasp  and  apply  his  knowledge  of  stress 
probably  requires  the  exercise  of  greater  intelligence,  upon 
the  part  of  the  student,  than  any  other  principle  in  the 
theory  of  elocution. 


Chapter  XXIX. 

Time:  Quantity  and  Movetnent. 

2:56.  Time,  as  a  property  of  the  voice,  is  the  measure  or 
duration  of   its  sound. 

The  study  of  time  comprehends  quantity,  or  the  duration 
of  iidividual  syllables,  which  may  be  long  or  short. 

]\Tovement,  or  time  in  its  relation  to  syllables  in  succes- 
sion, as  they  constitute  a  quick  or  slow  utterance. 

Pause,  or  the  time  the  voice  is  suspended  between  the 
several  parts  of  discourse,  in  accordance  with  both  the 
sense  of  the  language  to  be  uttered  and  the  organic  neces- 
sities of  the  speaker. 

rhythm,  or  the  division  of  speech  into  measures  of  equal 
extent,  regulated  by  the  pulsation  and  remission,  or  action 
and  reaction  of  the  organs. 

Quantity. 

227.  The  term  quantity,  when  not  qualified  by  the  words 
short  or  immutable,  is  usually  employed  as  signifying  long 
qui  ntity  or  extension  of  the  syllabic  sounds. 

'  'he  study  of  quantity  has  been  necessarily  connected 
will  many  of  our  preceding  studies  in  quality,  intonation, 
stress,  etc.,  for  it  is  not  possible  to  give  deliberate,  digni- 
fie( .,  or  elaborate  expression  to  language,  nor  to  employ  the^ 
mcit  agreeable  forms  of  emphatic  distinction,  without  a 
coiimand  over  syllabic  quantity. 

(349) 


350  Murdoch's  Elocution. 

It  is  the  element  of  dignity  and  grace,  as  radical  stress  is 
that  of  force  and  brilliancy.  Quantity  and  radical  stress, 
then,  are  the  two  great  articles  of  speech;  but  the  former 
is  one  of  the  attributes  least  exercised  in  colloquial  utter- 
ance, which,  in  its  ordinary  rapidity,  clips  short  the  time 
of  all  syllables  indiscriminately. 

As  it  is  one  of  the  elements  least  understood,  it  is  the 
one  which  receives  the  least  attention  in  ordinary  instruc- 
tion; although  it  constitutes  one  of  the  highest  beauties  in 
our  tongue,  and  is  an  absolute  essential  of  a  fine  delivery. 
No  mere  ictus  or  point  of  sound  can  be  tunable,  whereas 
quantity  gives  ample  territory,  as  it  were,  for  the  display 
of  agreeable  qualities. 

Without  quantity  in  syllables,  we  could  have  no  graceful 
sweep  of  the  wave,  and  none  of  the  beauty  and  grandeur 
of  the  median  swell. 

228.  Our  language  is  so  constructed,  with  its  numbers 
of  indefinite  syllables,  as  to  allow  of  all  the  beautiful  move- 
ments that  attend  extension  of  tunable  and  expressive 
sound. 

Long  quantity  is,  therefore,  the  natural  sign,  as  ex- 
pressed in  the  waves,  the  median  stress,  and  the  slow  con- 
cretes of  the  direct  intervals,  in  the  mental  states  of  sol- 
emnity, reverential  awe,  grandeur,  veneratiofi,  fervent  or 
earnest  prayer,  solemn  denunciation  or  warning,  deep  pathos, 
ardent  admiration,  etc., — in  short,  all  states  implying  the 
deliberation  of  elevated  emotions.  The  language  of  such 
emotions  artistically  uttered  in  conformity  with  the  laws  of 
speech  already  explained,  has  an  agreeable  fullness  and 
flowing  smoothness  akin  to  music  itself,  and  is,  at  the  same 
time,  entirely  free  from  the  objectionable  chant  or  mouthing 
arising  from  a  confounding  of  the  characteristics  of  speech 
^nd  song. 

229.  Immutable  syllables,  not  admitting  of  extension,  are 
the  proper  vehicles  for  the  abrupt  explosion  of  the  radical 


Time.  3  5 1 

stress ;    and,    therefore,    best   adapted  to  this   form  of  em- 
phasis. 

The  mutable  quantities  afford  excellent  material,  from 
their  peculiar  compact  form,  together  with  a  capacity  for 
some  extension,  for  the  peculiar  emphasis  of  some  of  the 
strongest  forms  of  stress,  as  the  thorough,  final,  and  loud 
concrete. 

Movement. 

230.  The  long  or  indefinite  syllables  of  language  are 
not  always  absolutely  longer  than  those  limited  by  their 
structure  to  a  short  utterance,  for  they  may  be  spoken  long 
or  saort  at  will.  Any  continued  succession  of  syllables, 
utteied  with  long  or  short  quantities,  necessarily  either 
retaids  or  quickens  the  rate  of  utterance.  A  current  of 
language  thus  marked  is  said  to  have  quick  or  slow  time 
or  riovement. 

2:11.  Pauses  also  aid  in  producing  either  rapid  or  slow 
mo\ement,  their  length  being  always  proportionate  to  the 
syllc  bic  quantities.  They  are,  therefore,  always  short  in 
rapid,  and  long  in  slow  movement. 

A  medium  rate  of  utterance  indicates  an  equable  flow 
of  tiought  neither  rapid  nor  sluggish,  not  exhibiting  haste, 
nor  expressing  deliberation,  but  calm  and  unexcited.  From 
sucl  a  starting-point  spring  the  extremes  of  rapidity  and 
sloY  ness. 

T  he  graceful  movements  of  the  courtly  minuet,  or  the 
sokmn  dirge  of  the  funeral,  are  in  common  with  long 
quantities,  slow  movement,  moderate  intonation,  and  low 
pitch;  while  1  the  gleeful  skip  of  the  joyful  dance,  or  the 
cheerful  tone  of  the  marriage-bell,  are  associated  with 
sho't  quantities,  brisk  movement,  varied  melody,  and  high 
pit(  h.  Haste,  anger,  vehemence,  irritability,  and  eager 
arg  iment  also  affect  a  rapid  movement,  varied  intonations, 


352  Murdoch! s  Elocution. 

and  high  pitch.     Parenthetic   phrases  also  assume  a  com- 
paratively quickened  rate. 

The  following  impressive  passage  from  Young  furnishes 
a  striking  instance  of  the  expressive  power  of  long  quanti- 
ties and  slow  rate  of  utterance.  The  poet  represents  him- 
self as  wrapt  in  profoundest  thought,  in  the  darkness  and 
hush  of  midnight,  meditating  on  th6  vast  and  awful  themes 
of  death  and  immortality  :* 

"Night,  sable  goddess,  from  her  ebon  throne, 
In  rayless  majesty  now  stretches  forth 
Her  leaden  sceptre  o'er  a  slumbering  world. 
Silence  how  dead,  and  darkness  how  profound, 
Nor  eye,  nor  listening  ear  an  object  finds. 
Treation  sleeps.     'Tis  as  the  general  pulse 
Of  life  stood  still,  and  nature  made  a  pause — 
An  awful  pause, — prophetic  of  her  end." 

Take,  on  the  other  hand,  an  example  of  the  opposite 
moods  of  thought  and  feeling,  in  which  the  heart  is 
attuned  to  the  voice  of  mirth  and  gladness,  and  dances  in 
joyous  sympathy  to  the  music  of  the  poet's  verse,  as  in 
ecstatic  mood  he  sings  of  the  sunshine  holiday,  when 
young  and  old  come  forth  to  play : 

"Haste  thee,  nymph,  and  bring  with  thee 
Jest,  and  youthful  jollity, 
Quips,  and  cranks,   and  wanton  wiles. 
Nods,  and  becks,  and  wreathed  smiles, 
Such  as  hang  on  Hebe's  cheek. 
And  love  to  dwell  in  dimple  sleek ; 
Come,  and  trip  it  as  ye  go. 
On  the  light  fantastic  toe." 

The  expressive  effect  of  this  language  depends,  it  is  ob- 
vious, as  much  on  the  briskness  and  velocity  of  movement 
in  its  utterance,  as  on  the  other  primary  elements  of 
brilliant  quality  and  high  pitch. 


Time.  353 

232.  As  we  continue  our  analysis  of  the  effect  of  time. 
as  a  principal  source  of  poetic  inspiration  in  utterance,  we 
shall  perceive  that  the  almost  funereal  solemnity  of  the 
passajje  first  quoted,  and  the  dancing  gayety  of  the  last, 
deper  d  largely  on  the  meter  or  measure  adopted  in  each 
case,  the  language  in  the  first  case  moving  with  a  slow  and 
solemn  tread,  and  in  the  second  with  a  quickened,  tripping 
step. 

In  the  slow  movements  of  a  drift  or  current  of  language 
indicative  of  simply  an  elevated  dignity  or  moderately  de- 
liberc  te  grandeur  of  feeling,  the  quantities  are  extended  on 
the  equable  concrete  of  the  plain  second,  and  on  the  direct 
and  nverted  wave  of  this  interval  on  all  extendible  quanti- 
ties, as  explained  in  our  study  of  waves  of  the  second. 
The  notations  there  given  of  the  passage  from  Milton,  to- 
gether with  the  comments  upon  it,  will  illustrate  the  value 
of  ( uantity  in  elevated  speech,  and  of  the  dignified 
gran  ieur  of  this  element  when  associated  with  the  diatonic 
melcdy  and  frequent  phrases  of  the  monotone. 

Should  such  language  become  more  strongly  admirative 
or  adoring,  its  quantities  would  be  occasionally  extended 
on  t  le  stronger  emphases,  through  the  rising  or  falling  slow- 
cone  retes  of  the  third  or  fifth,  or  through  the  waves  of 
thes;  intervals.  Long  quantities  thus  employed,  together 
with  the  fullness  of  the  orotund  quality,  the  median  swell, 
and  occasional  tremor,  produce  the  highest  vocal  expres- 
sion of  admiring  and  adoring  man. 

I1  has  been  stated  that  the  immutable  and  unaccented 
syll  ibles  of  a  current  of  language  always  pass  through  the 
rapid  concrete,  yet,  when  the  style  becomes  impressively 
deli  3erate  there  should  be  an  extension  of  the  time  of  even 
the  rapid  concrete  of  the  unaccented  syllables  sufficient  to 
pre  erve  the  relative  proportions  between  these  and  the  un- 
usu  il  extension  of  the  accented  syllables,  and  thus  to  give 
a  unity  to  the  vocal  current. 

M.  E.— 30. 


354  Murdoch! s  Elocution, 


Individual  emphases  of  quantity  may  also  be  given 
where  the  general  current  is  not  slow.  This  occurs  usually 
in  the  impassioned  use  of  the  wider  waves,  as  in  the  fol- 
lowing violent  language  of  Hamlet  to  Laertes, — in  which, 
although  the  general  movement  is  rapid,  the  word  ' '  mill- 
ions "  is  given  its  most  effectual  emphasis  by  the  use  of  an 
extended  wave  of  the  wider  interval  on  the  indefinite 
quantity  of.  its  first  syllable : 

"  And  if  thou  prate  of  mountains,  let  them  throw 
Millions  of  acres  on  us,   till  our  ground, 
Singeing  his  pate  against  the  burning  zone, 
Make  Ossa  like  a  wart." 

Short  syllabic  quantity  may  also  be  employed  as  a  strong 
emphasis  in  a  current  not  rapid,  as  in  Macbeth's  words  of 
remorse : 

"I  had  most  need  of  blessing, 
But  amen  stuck  in  my  throat." 


Examples  of  Quantity, 
long  quantities  in  slow  movement. 


"Thou  art,  and  wert,  and  shalt  be!      Glorious!    Great 
Light-giving,  life-sustaining  Potentate.'''' 

*  Beneath  those  rugged  elms,   that  yew-tree'' s  shade. 
Where  heaves  the  turf  in  many  a  mouldering  heap." 

*'  Calm  on  its  leaf-strewn  bier 
Unlike  a  gift  of  Nature  to  Decay.'''' 

Sailing  away,  losing  the  breath  of  the  shores  in  MayT 
"  And  the  gray  gulls  wheel.'''' 
'*  Calmness  sits  throned  on  yon  unmoving  cloud." 


I 


Time.  355 

"  Jlessed   is  the  soul  that  listeneth  to  the  voice  of  the  Lord,  and 
from  his  own  lips  heareth  the  words  of  consolation." 

"And  the  widows  of  Ashur  are  loud  in  their  wail" 
"  I  am,  O  God,  and  surely   Thou  must  be !  " 

"  C>   Thou!  whose  balance  does  the  mountains  weigh. 
Whose  will  the  wild  tumultuous  seas  obey, 
Whose  breath  can  turn  those  watery  worlds  \o  flame ^ 
Th.a.t  flame  to  tempest,  and  that  tempest  tame." 

''Hail,  holy  lave  I  thou  word  that  sums  all  bliss." 

"God  of  xi\y  fathers !  holy,  just,  and  good! 
My  God!  ray  father !  my  unfailing  hope!" 

'' Skirr  the  country  round" 


SHORT   QUANTITIES,    RAPID    MOVEMENT. 

•«  Fib,  and   Tib,  and  Pinck,  and  Pin, 
Tick,  and  Quick,   and  Jill,  and  Jin^ 
Tit,  and  Nit,  and  Wap,  and  Win,    ' 
The  train  that  wait  upon  her." 

"  Quips,  and   Cranks,  and  wanton    ^?7<?j, 
iVi?^^,  and  Becks,  and  wreathed  Smiles"   . 

Quick,  get  me  my  cap,  bat,  and  hat. 
The  wicked  cat  has  scratched  her. 

Wicked,  flckle  fool. 

"  5)!>/7/  her !  >^?7/  her !    tear  and  tatter  her ! 
Smash  her!   i-r«j^  her." 


356  MurdocJis  Elocution. 

' '  A  speck^  a  mist,  a  shape ,  I  wist ! 
And  still  it  neared  and  neared  : 
As  if  it  dodged  a  water-sprite 

It  plunged,   and  tacked,   and  veered.''^ 

«'  7a//^  not  to  me  of  odds  or  match  !^^ 

♦'You  common  cry  of  cursf^ 


Quick  Movement. 

'♦Come  dance,  elfins,   dance!  for  my  harp  is  in  tune, 
The  wave-rocking  gales  are  all  lulled  to  repose ; 
And  the  breath  of  this  exquisite  evening  in  June, 
Is  scented  with  laurel  and  myrtle  and  rose. 

♦'Each  lily  that  bends  to  the  breast  of  the  stream, 
And  sleeps  on  the  waters  transparently  bright, 
Will  in  ecstasy  wake,  like  a  bride  from  her  dream, 
When  my  tones  stir  the  dark  plumes  of  silence  and  night. 


GAYETY. 

'  Down  the  dimpled  greensward  dancing, 

Bursts  a  flaxen-headed  bevy ; 
Bud-lipped  boys  and  girls  advancing; — 

Love's  irregular  little  levee ! 
Rows  of  liquid  eyes  in  laughter. 

How  they  glimmer  !     How  they  quiver! 
Sparkling  one  another  after, 

Like  bright  ripples  on  a  river! 
Tipsy  band  of  rubious  faces. 

Flushed  with  joy's  ethereal  spirit, 
Make  your  mocks  and  sly  grimaces 

At  Love's  self,  and  do  not  fear  it." 

— Geo.  Darley. 


Time.  357 

On  March  7th,  June,  July, 
October,   too,  the  Nones  you  spy ; 
Except  in  these,  those  Nones  appear 
On  the  5th  day  of  all  the  year. 
If  to  the  Nones  you  add  an  8, 
Of  all  the  Ides  you  '11  find  the  date. 
Hence  we  have  the  15th  for  the  Ides  of  March, 
June,    July,   and    October;    and    the   13th    for  every  other 
month. 

— Nones  and  Ides. 


Moderate  Movement. 

DELIGHT. — Natural   Quality.     Middle   Pitch.      Gentle   Force. 
Waves  and  Intervals  of  a  Second  and  Third. 

"Three  times  shall  a  young  foot-page 
Svirim  the  stream,  and  climb  the  mountain, 
And  kneel  down  beside  my  feet; 
*  Lo !   my  master  sends  this  gage, 
Lady,  for  thy  pity's  counting! 
What  wilt  thou  exchange  for  it  ? ' 

•'  And  the  first  time,  I  will  send 
A  white  rose-bud  for  a  guerdon; 
And  the  second  time,   a  glove ; 
But  the  third  time,   I  may  bend 
From  my  pride,  and  answer,   '  Pardon 
If  he  comes  to  take  my  love.' 

•'Then  the  young  foot-page  will  run, 
Then  my  lover  will  ride  faster, 
Till  he  kneeleth  at  my  knee : 
'  I  am  a  duke's  eldest  son, 
Thousand  serfs  do  call  me  master. 
But,  O  Love!   I  love  but  thee.'" 

— ^'Romance  of  the  Swanks  Nest,'"   Mrs.   E.  B.  Browning. 


358  Murdoch's  Elocution. 

DIDACTIC. — Natural  Quality.  Median  Stress  prevalent,  with- 
out much  Swell.  Gentle  Expulsive  Force.  Middle  Fitch. 
Diatonic  Melody,  with   Waves  and  Thirds. 

*'  Read,  not  to  contradict  and  confute,  nor  to  believe  and  take  for 
granted ;  not  to  find  talk  and  discourse,  but  to  weigh  and  consider. 
Some  books  are  to  be  tasted,  others  to  be  swallowed,  and  some  few 
to  be  chewed  and  digested :  that  is,  some  books  are  to  be  read  only 
in  parts ;  others  to  be  read,  but  not  curiously ;  and  some  few  to  be 
read  wholly,  and  with  diligence  and  attention.  Reading  makes  a 
full  man;  conference,  a  ready  man;  and  writing,  an  exact  man;  and, 
therefore,  if  a  man  write  little,  he  has  need  of  a  great  memory ;  if 
he  confer  little,  he  has  need  of  a  present  wit;  and  if  he  read  little, 
he  has  need  of  much  cunning  to  seem  to  know  that  he  does  not." 

— Bacon. 

Deliberate  Movement. 

The  grandeur  and  dignity  with  which  Job  acknowledges 
God's  justice,  calls  forth  dignity  of  movement  and  orotund 
quality.  His  earnestness  demands  expulsion.  The  pitch 
is  varied,  both  in  sentential  form  and  intonation.  Median 
swell  is  the  prevailing  stress  in  the  form  of  waves  of  a 
second. 

."Then  Job  answered  and  said,  I  know  it  is  so  of  a  truth:  but 
how  should  man  be  just  with  God?  If  he  will  contend  with  him, 
he  can  not  answer  him  one  of  a  thousand. 

*^ He  is  wise  in  heart,  and  mighty  in  strength:  who  hath  hardened 
himself  against  him,  and  hath  prospered  ?  Which  removeth  the 
mountains,  and  they  know  not :  which  overturneth  them  in  his 
anger. 

**  Which  shaketh  the  earth  out  of  her  place,  and  the  pillars 
thereof  tremble. 

"  Which  commandeth  the  sun,  and  it  riseth  not ;  and  sealeth  up 
the  stars.  Which  alone  spreadeth  out  the  heavens,  and  treadeth 
upon  the  waves  of  the  sea. 

'•  Which  maketh  Arcturus,  Orion,  and  Pleiades,  and  the  chambers 
of  the  south.  Which  doeth  great  things  past  finding  out;  yea,  and 
wonders  without  number." 


Time,  359 


Slow  Movement. 

SERIOUS  STYLE. — Full  Natural  Qiiality.  Gentle  Force.  Clear 
Raiical  Movement.  Middle  Pitch.  Diatonic  Melody,  with 
occasional  Thirds  and  Waves. 

"  >  ot  eloquence,  but  truth,  is  to  be  sought  in  the  Holy  Scriptures, 
every  part  of  which  must  be  read  with  the  same  spirit  by  which  it 
was  V  ritten.  In  these,  and  all  other  books,  it  is  improvement  in 
holinc  ss,  not  pleasure  in  the  subtlety  of  thought,  or  the  accuracy  of 
expre  ;sion,  that  must  be  principally  regarded.  We  ought  to  read 
those  parts  that  are  simple  and  devout,  with  the  same  affection  and 
deliglit  as  those  of  high  speculation  or  profound  erudition.  What- 
ever liook  thou  readest,  suffer  not  thy  mind  to  be  influenced  by  the 
chara:ter  of  the  writer,  whether  his  literary  accomplishments  be 
great  or  small.  Let  thy  only  motive  to  read  be  the  love  of  truth; 
and,  nstead  of  inquiring  who  it  is  that  writes,  give  all  thy  attention 
to  tie  nature  of  what  is  written.  Man  passeth  away  like  the 
shad<  ws  of  the  morning ;  but  '  the  word  of  the  Lord  endureth  for- 
ever ; '  and  that  word,  without  respect  of  persons,  in  ways  infinitely 
vario  IS,   speaketh  unto  all." 

— ''Reading  the  Scriptures  and  other  Holy  Books, ^^  A'Kempis. 


SOLEMNITY.      ' 

0  God!   this  is  a  holy  hour: — 
Thy  breath  is  o'er  the  land; 

1  feel  it  in  each  little  flower 
Around  me  where  I  stand — 

In  all  the  moonshine  scattered  fair. 
Above,  below  me,  everywhere, — 
In  every  dew-bead's  glistening  sheen, 
In  every  leaf  and  blade  of  green, — 
And  in  this  silence  grand  and  deep 
Wherein  thy  blessed  creatures  sleep." 

— Wm.  Motherwell. 


360  Murdoch's  Elocution. 


Slowest  Movement. 

DESOLATION. — Lmv    Pitch.      Slightly    Aspirated.      Suppressed 
Force..     Median  Waves.      The  Refrain  here  is  Semitonic. 

"And  ever  when  the  moon  was  low, 

And   the  shrill  winds  were  up  and  away, 
In  the  white  curtain,   to  and  fro, 

She  saw  the  gusty  shadow  sway. 
But  when  the  moon  was  very  low, 
And  the  wild  winds  bound  within  their  cell, 
The  shadow  of  the  poplar  fell 
Upon  her  bed,  across  her  brow. 
She  only  said,   *The  night  is  dreary. 

He  Cometh  not,'  she  said; 
She  said,   *  I  am  aweary,  aweary, 

I  would  that  I  were  dead ! ' 

**A11  day  within  the  dreamy  house, 

The  doors  upon  their  hinges  creak'd ; 
The  blue  fly  sung  in  the  pane ;  the  mouse 

Behind  the  mouldering  wainscot  shriek'd. 
Or  from  the  crevice  peer'd  about. 
Old  faces  glimmered  thro'   the  doors. 
Old  footsteps  trod  the  upper  floors, 
Old  voices  called  her  from  without. 
She  only  said,   » My  life  is  dreary. 

He  cometh  not,'  she  said ; 
She  said,   *  I  am  aweary,  aweary, 

I  would  that  I  were  dead ! '  " 

— '■^Mariana,'"  Tennyson. 

Low  Pitch.     Suppressed  Force.      Orotund,  slightly  Aspiraied. 

The  changes  in  sentential  pitch  and  intonation  at  pauses 
will  prevent  monotony. 


What  is  eternity?     Can  aught 
Paint  its  duration  to  the  thought? 
Tell  every  beam  the  sun  emits, 


Hjl^ 


Time.  36 1 

When  in  sublimest  noon  he  sits; 
Tell  every  light-winged  mote  that  strays 
Within  his  ample  round  of  rays; 
Tell  all  the  leaves  and  all  the  buds, 
That  crown  the  gardens  and  the  woods; 
Tell  all  the  spires  of  grass  the  meads 
Produce,  when  spring  propitious  leads 
The  new-born  year;  tell  all  the  drops 
The  night  upon  their  bended  tops 
Sheds  in  soft  silence,  to  display 
Their  beauties  with  the  rising  day ; 
Tell  all  the  sand  the  ocean  laves. 
Tell  all  its  changes,  all  its  waves, 
Or  tell,  with  more  laborious  pains, 
The  drops  its  mighty  mass  contains. 
Be  this  astonishing  account 
Augmented  with  the  full  amount 
Of  all  the  drops  the  clouds  have  shed, 
Where'er  their  watery  fleeces  spread, 
Through  all  time's  long  continued  tour, 
From  Adam  to  the  present  hour; 
Still  short  the  sum :   it  can  not  vie 
With  the  more  numerous  years  that  lie 
Imbosomed  in  eternity." 

— ''Eternity,'"  Dr.  Thomas  Gibbons. 


Rapid  Movement. 
Orotund.     High  Pitch.     Loud  Concrete^  with  Waves. 

"We  come!   we  come!   and  ye  feel  our  might. 
As  we're  hastening  on  in  our  boundless  flight; 
And  over  the  mountains,  and  over  the  deep. 
Our  broad  invisible  pinions  sweep 
Like  the  spirit  of  liberty,   wild  and  free. 
And  ye  look  on  our  works,  and  own  'tis  we; 
Ye  call  us  the  Winds;  but  can  ye  tell 
Whither  we  go,  or  where  we  dwell  ? 

M."  E  — 31. 


362  Murdoch's  Elocution. 


Our  dwelling  is  in  the  Almighty's  hand; 
We  come  and  we  go  at  his  command, 
Though  joy  or  sorrow  may  mark  our  track, 
His  will  is  our  guide,  and  we  look  not  back; 
And  if,  in  our  wrath,  ye  would  turn  us  away, 
Or  win  us  in  gentle  airs  to  play. 
Then  lift  up  your  hearts  to  him  who  binds, 
Or  frees,  as  he  will,  the  obedient  Winds!" 

— ♦«  The  Winds;'  Miss  H.  F.  Gould. 


High  Pitch.     Gentle  Force.     Natural  Quality.     Intervals  of 
a   Third  and  Waves  of  the  same. 

"The  Spring — she  is  a  blessed  thing! 
She  is  mother  of  the  flowers ! 
She  is  the  mate  of  birds  and  bees, 
The  partner  of  their  revelries. 
Our  star  of  hope  through  wintry  hours. 


Up !  let  us  to  the  fields  away, 

And  breathe  the  fresh  and  balmy  air; 

The  bird  is  building  in  the  tree, 

The  flower  has  opened  to  the  bee, 

And  health  and  love  and  peace  are  there." 

— '■^  Spring^''  Mary  Howitt. 


Natural   Quality.      High   Pitch.      Light   Radical.      Moderate 
Force.     Diatonic  Melody.,  with  Waves  of  the  Second. 

"The  cock  is  crowing, 
The  Stream  is  flowing, 
The  small  birds  twitter, 
The  lake  doth  glitter; 
The  green  field  sleeps  in  the  sun ; 
The  oldest  and  youngest 
Are  at  work  with  the  strongest; 


Time.  '^6'^ 


The  cattle  are  grazing, 
Their  heads  never  raising; 
There  are  forty  feeding  like  one! 

"  Like  au  army  defeated 

The  snow  hath  retreated, 

And  now  doth  fare  ill 

On  the  top  of  the  bare  hill; 
The  ploughboy  is  whooping — anon — anon; 

There's  joy  in  the  mountains; 

There's  life  in  the  fountains; 

Small  clouds  are  sailing, 

Blue  sky  prevailing, 
The  rain  is  over  and  gone !  " 

— '■^Written  in  March,''''  Wordsworth. 


Chapter  XXX. 

Pauses. 

233.  Pauses  may  be  divided  into  two  classes: 
(i)  Pauses  of  Sense,  which  mark  the  divisions  of.  dis- 
course, for  the  purpose  of  simply  presenting  the  meaning 
clearly  and  distinctly,  independent  of  emotion  or  passion, 
their  place  and  relative  length  being  determined  by  the 
grammatical  structure  of  the  language. 

(2)  Pauses  of  Emotion,  which  sometimes  coincide  in 
place  with  the  pauses  of  sense,  but  are  usually  superadded 
to  these,  and  depend  upon  emotion,  passion,  or  strongly 
significant  emphasis. 


Pauses  of  Sense. 


234.  By  distinguishing  sentences  into  their  component 
parts  and  several  kinds,  some  principles  and  rules  may  be 
given  hy  which  the  student  may  be  guided  with  regard  to 
correct  pausing. 

A  Sentence  is  an  assemblage  of  words  conveying  a  de- 
claration, an  interrogation,  a  petition,  or  a  command.  The 
essential  of  every  sentence  is  a  subject  or  nominative,  and 
a  finite  verb.  Either  of  these  may  be  modified  or  unmod- 
ified. 

A  Clause  is  a  simple  sentence  (one  subject  and  one  finite 
verb)  united  to  some  other  sentence  of  equal  value,  or  de- 
pendent upon  some  word  in  a  sentence  as  a  modifier. 
(364) 


Pauses.  365 


Clauses  are  also  called  members  of  a  sentence  of  which 
they  form  a  part,  and  are  either  co-ordinate  or  subordinate;  as, 

"This  is  the  man  who  was  born  blind ^^  (subordinate). 

A  Phrase  is  a  group  of  several  words  not  making  com- 
plete sense  when  uttered  alone,  but  used  to  modify  some 
other  part  of   the  sentence;  as, 

"Truth  will  at  last  prevail." 

Seiitences  may  be  simple,  complex,  or  compound.  A  simple 
senteace  consists  of  a  nominative  and  verb,  either  of  which 
may  be  simple  or  modified  by  words  or  phrases ;  as, 

"Alexander  wept."      Or, 

"Alexander  wept  for  the  fate  of  Darius."      Or, 

"The  great  Alexander  wept  for  the  fate  of  Darius." 

A  complex  sentence  consists  of  one  principal  proposition, 
some  part  or  parts  of  which  are  modified  by  a  dependent 
clause  or  clauses;    as,  .  . 

''God,  who  is  great,  rules  the  universe." 

A  compound  sentence  is  composed  of  two  or  more  sen- 
tenc  ;s  or  members  of  equal  rank;  as, 

"  industry  is  the  guardian  of  innocence,  and  adversity  is  the 
scho<  1  of  piety." 

T  le  members  of  a  compound  sentence  may  be  individu- 
ally simple,  complex,  or  compound.  The  following  is  an 
inst;  nee  where  each  member  is  compound : 

"  The  ox  knoweth  his  owner,  and  the  ass  his  master's  crib;  but 
Israt  1  doth  not  know,  my  people  do  not  consider." 

Compound  sentences  are  further  divided  into  the  period 
or  <  ompact  sentence,  and  the  loose  sentence : 

P'  Period  is  composed  of  two  or  more  simple  sentences 
or  nembers,  each  of  which,  independent  of  the  other, 
doei  not  form  complete  sense;    or  if  they  do,  the  latter 


o 


66  Murdoch's  Eloctition, 


modifies   the   former,   or  inversely,    the   connection    in   all 
cases  between  the  parts  being  very  close. 

(a)  A  Direct  Period  is  that  in  which  the  first  member  is 
dependent  for  sense  upon  the  latter,  or  in  which  the  sense 
is  not  completely  formed  until  the  close : 

•'Though  many  things  exceed  the  capacity  of  our  wits,  yet  they 
are  beheved." 

(b)  The  Limited  Period  is  that  form  of  compact  sentence 
in  which,  although  the  first  part  forms  sense  alone,  it  is 
nevertheless  modified  by  the  second,  and  does  not,  there- 
fore,  form  complete  sense  until  the  close : 

**  Many  things  are  believed,  though  they  exceed  the  capacity  of 
our  wits." 

A  Loose  Sentence  contains  several  members,  the  first 
one  or  more  of  which  form  complete  sense  without  being 
modified  by  the  latter,  which  usually  adds  some  reflection, 
illustration,   remark,   or  example: 

•'Persons  of  good  taste  expect  to  be  pleased  at  the  same  time 
they  are  informed;  and  think  that  the  best  sense  always  deserves 
the  best  language." 

With  reference  to  the  principal  division  of  compound 
sentences,  when  read  simply  to  develop  the  sense,  we 
have  the  following  rules: 

235.  Rule  L — In  every  Direct  period  the  principal  pause 
comes  at  that  part  where  the  sense  begins  to  form^  or  the  ex- 
pectation excited  by  the  first  member  begins  to  be  answered. 

"Though  he  slay  me,  ||  yet  will  I  trust  in  him." 

Rule  IL — The  principal  pause  of  an  inverted  period  should 
be  placed  at  that  part  where  the  latter  member  begins  to  modify 
the  former.     Thus : 


Pauses.  2>^J 


"  1  very  man  that  speaks  and  reasons,  is  a  grammarian  and  a 
logician,  !|  though  he  may  be  utterly  unacquainted  with  the  rules 
of  gn.mmar  and  logic." 

Rile  III. — A  Loose  Sentence  requires  a  longer  pause  between 
its  fir'st  member  {usually  a  period  direct  or  inverted)  and  the 
additional  member  which  does  not  7nodify  it. 

"I'ersons  of  good  taste  expect  to  be  pleased  |  at  the  same  time 
they  ire  informed ;  H  and  think  that  the  best  sense  always  deserves 
the  bast  language." 

Subordinate  pauses  divide  the  subordinate  members  of 
com})Ound  sentences,  or  the  parts  of  a  simple  or  complex 
sente  nee. 

Pauses  aid  in  conveying  the  ideas  in  a  sentence  by  sepa- 
rating such  as  are  only  related,  and  by  uniting  those  that 
are  closely  associated  in  sense.  In  order  to  determine  the 
seve  al  degrees  of  union  between  words,  so  as  to  be  able 
to  d  vide  them  in  accordance  with  this  principle,  we  must 
cons  ider  the  following :  all  the  words  of  a  simple  or  com- 
plex sentence  may  be  divided  into  two  general  classes — 
thos'i  that  modify  and  those  that  are  modified. 

T  le  words  which  we  may  consider  as  modified  by  all 
othe's  are  the  nominative  and  its  verb.  The  modifiers 
are,  however,  themselves  modified  by  other  words,  and 
thus  the  words  of  a  sentence  become  divisible  by  pauses 
into  superior  and  subordinate  classes,  each  being  composed 
of  vords  more  closely  united  among  themselves  than  the 
several  classes  are  with  each  other. 

T  D  illustrate :  the  substantive  and  verb,  with  their  modi- 
fiers, as  the  two  principal  classes  of  every  sentence,  admit 
mos;  readily  of  a  pause  between  them.  While  the  modi- 
fiers of  these  words  are  divided  into  subordinate  classes, 
Sep;  rable  by  pauses  from  the  words  they  modify,  and  from 
eacii  other,   according  as  they   possess   modifiers  of   their 


368  Murdochs  Elocution, 

own,  to  which  they  are  more  closely  united  than  to  the 
superior  words  they  themselves  immediately  modify.  The 
same  principle  holds  in  modifiers  of  the  third  degree. 

The  places,  then,  for  pausing,  in  every  sentence,  are  very 
numerous,  increasing  always  with  the  complexity  of  the 
sentence.  With  this  in  view,  the  following  rules  will  be 
better  understood  and  applied: 

236.  Rule  I. —  When  the  nominative  of  a  sentence  consists 
of  more  than  one  word,  or  of  one  important  or  emphatic  word, 
it  should  have  a  pause  after  it. 

"The  great  and  invincible  Alexander  |  wept  for  the  fate  of 
Darius." 

••The  fashion  of  this  world  |  passeth  away.  To  be  virtuous  |  is 
to  be  happy." 

••  Vice  I  is  a  monster  of  so  frightful  mien, 
As,  to  be  hated,  needs  but  to  be  seen." 

•'Self-love  I  forsook  the  path  it  first  pursued, 
And  formed  the  public  in  the  private  good." 

••Weeping  |  may  endure  for  a  night;  but  joy  |  cometh  in  the 
morning." 

••  Our  schemes  of  thought  in  childhood  |  are  lost  in  those  of 
youth." 

•*  Hatred  and  anger  |  are  the  greatest  poison  to  the  mind." 

Rule  II. —  Where  the  adjective  follows  the  substantive  or 
noun  it  modifies,  and  has  modifiers  of  its  own,  constituting  a 
descriptive  phrase,  it  should  be  separated  from  its  noun  by  a 
short  pause. 

'*  He  was  a  man  |  learned  and  polite." 
"It  was  a  calculation  |  accurate  to  the  last  degree, 


I 


Pauses.  369 


"It  was  a  sight  |  wonderful  to  behold." 

"He  possesses  a  style  |  grand  in  its  simplicity." 

Rule  III. — A  nou7i  which  has  modifiers^  and  stands  in 
apposition  with  a  noun  preceding^  whether  single  or  modified^ 
must  be  separated  from  the  latter  hy  a  short  pause. 

"Lincoln,  |  President  of  the  United  States." 

'George,  |  King  of  Great  Britain,  France,  and  Ireland." 

"Paul,  I  the  apostle  of  the  Gentiles." 

**  Your  house  is  finished,  sir,  at  last, 
A  narrower  house,  |  a  house  of  clay." 

"  When  first  thy  sire  to  send  on  earth, 
Virtue,  |  his  darling  child,  designed — 
To  thee  he  gave  the  heavenly  birth. 
And  bade  thee  form  her  infant  mind." 

If  the  nouns  in  apposition  are  single,  no  pause  is  re- 
quired. Thus:  President  Lincoln.  The  Apostle  Paul. 
King  George. 

Rule  IV. — (i)  If  an  adverb  is  modified,  constituting  an 
advei  bial  phrase,  it  should  be  separated  by  a  pause,  both  from 
its  vi  rb  and  from  what  follows. 

"lie  owed  his  success  |  in  great  measure  |  to  the  exertions  of  his 
frient  s." 

"Then  must  you  speak 
Of  one  who  loved  |  not  wisely,  [  but  too  well." 

(2  If  a  single  adverb  follows  the  verb  it  modifies,  it  must 
be  si  barated  from  what  follows  by  a  pause. 

"]Ie  did  not  act  wisely,  |  and,  therefore,  has  much  to  regret." 


Tfjo  Murdoch's  Elocution. 

Rule  V. — (i)  A  phrase  or  clause  intervening  between  the 
nominative  and  verb,  is  of  the  nature  of  a  parenthesis,  and 
must  be  separated  from  both  by  a  pause. 

"When  the  Romans  and  Sabines  were  at  war,  and  upon  the  point 
of  battle,  the  women,  |  who  were  allied  to  both,  |  interposed  with 
so  many  entreaties  that  they  prevented  the  mutual  slaughter." 

"Joseph,  I  who  happened  to  be  in  the  field  at  the  time,  |  saw 
the  carriage  approach,  and,  |  in  an  ecstasy  of  delight,  |  hastened  to 
meet  it." 

(2)  Similarly,  a  phrase  or  clause  coming  between  an  active 
verb  and  its  object  is  separated  from  both  by  a  pause. 

**  I  saw,  I  standing  beside  me,  |  a  form  of  diviner  features,  and  a 
more  benign  radiance." 

"Thou  knowest,  |  come  what  may,  |  that  the  light  of  truth  can 
never  be  put  out." 

(3)  A  phrase  or  clause  coming  between  a  verb  and  its 
auxiliary,  must  also  be  separated  from  both  by  a  pause. 

"  This  will,  I  I  fear,  |  affect  his  happiness.  It  must,  |  of  neces- 
sity, I  have  alarmed  him." 

"It  will,  I  I  think,  |  interfere  seriously  with  his  plans." 

Rule  VI. — Nouns  in  the  case  absolute  or  independent  are 
divided  from  what  follows  by  a  short  pause. 

"Death,  |  great  proprietor  of  all,  'tis  thine 
To  tread  out  empires,  and  to  quench  the  stars." 

"  If  a  man  borrow  aught  of  his  neighbor,  and  it  be  hurt  or  die,  ( 
the  owner  thereof  not  being  with  it,  |  he  shall  surely  make  it  good." 


Pauses.  37 


Rlle  VII. — A  short  pause  always  takes  place  at  an  ellipsis 
or  oiiission  of  words.  There  is  no  rule  for  pausing  more 
universal  than  this, — the  pause  seeming  to  take  the  place  of 
the  words  left  out. 

"The  vain  man  takes  praise  for  honor;  the  proud  man,  |  cere- 
mony for  respect;  the  ambitious  man,  |  power  for  glory." 

'♦To  err  is  human;  to  forgive,  |  divine." 

"ik.dd  to  your  faith  virtue;  and  to  virtue,  |  knowledge;  and  to 
knowledge,  |  temperance;  and  to  temperance,  1  patience." 

"Homer  was  the  greater  genius;  Virgil,  |  the  better  artist." 

Tlie  following  specific  rules  are  referable  to  the  general 
rules  of  ellipsis  just  given. 

(i^  If  several  subjects  belong  in  the  same  manner  to  one  verb^ 
or  SiVeral  verbs  in  the  same  manner  to  one  subject,  every  one 
of  tie  subjects  or  verbs  should  take  a  short  pause. 

"  Cliches,  I  pleasure,  |  and  health  |  become  evils  to  those  who  do 
not  l.now  how  to  use  them." 

•♦  My  I  hopes,  |  fears,  |  joys,  |  pains,  |  all  center  in  you." 

*'  'rie  went  into  the  cavern,  |  found  the  instruments,  |  hewed  down 
the  t  ees,  and,  in  one  day,  |  put  the  vessels  in  a  condition  for  sailing." 

(2)  Similarly,  if  there  are  several  adjectives  belonging  in  the 
sami  manner  to  one  substantive,  the  latter  is  to  be  considered 
as  i,i  every  case  but  one  omitted,  since  every  adjective  must  have 
its  i  wn  noun. 

A  short  pause,  therefore,  should  come  after  each  adjec- 
tive but  the  last,  when  they  precede  a  noun,  and  when 
the}  follow  it,  they  should  be  separated  from  the  noun 
and  from  each  other. 


372  Murdoch^ s  Elocution, 

•*A  good,  I  wise,  |  learned  man  is  an  ornament  to  the  common- 
wealth." 

A  man,  |  wise,  (  learned,  |  and  good,  is  an  ornament  to  the  com- 
monwealth." 

The  same  principle  of  pausing  holds  where  several  sub- 
stantives belong  in  the  same  manner  to  one  adjective. 

(3)  If  several  adverbs  belong  in  the  same  manner  to  one 
verb,  each  adverb  may  be  considered  as  having  its  own  verb 
omitted,   and  therefore  demands  a  pause. 

Where  they  precede  the  verb,  each  takes  a  pause  after 
it  except  the  last;  if  they  follow,  a  pause  must  succeed 
the  verb  and  every  adverb. 

•'To  love  I  wisely,  |  rationally,  |  and  prudently  |  is,  in  the  opinion 
of  lovers,   not  to  love  at  all." 

Wisely,  |  rationally,  |  and  prudently  to  love,  is,  in  the  opinion  of 
lovers,  not  to  love  at  all." 

The  same  principle  obtains  in  the  case  of  several  verbs 
having  but  one  adverb. 

Rule  VIII. — The  relative  pronouns  who,  which,  and  that 
(when  in  the  nominative  case),  conjunctive  adverbs,  conjunc- 
tions, prepositions,  and  all  parts  of  speech  used  for  transition 
and  connection,  generally  require,  and  always  admit  of,  a  short 
pause  before  them. 

**  A  man  can  never  be  obliged  to  submit  to  any  power,  unless  he 
can  be  satisfied  |  who  is  the  person  |  who  has  a  right  to  exercise  it." 

"You'll  rue  the  time  |  that  clogs  me  with  this  answer." 

"He  continued   steadfast  ]  while  others  wavered." 

"  It  was  the  owl  that  shriek'd,   the  fatal  bellman,  | 
Which  gives  the  stern'st  good-night." 


Pauses.  2)11 


"Death  is  the  season  |  which  brings  our  affections  to  the   test." 

"'Tis  now  the  very  witching  time  of  night,  | 
When  churchyards  yawn." 

"This  is  the  spot  |  where  he  is  wont  to  walk." 

**I  will  not  let  thee  go  |  except  thou  bless  me." 

"This  let  him  know,  | 
Lest,  willfully  transgressing,  he  pretend  surprisal." 

"I  wrote  I  because  it  amused  me;  I  published  |  because  I  was 
told  it  would  please." 

"It  is  more  blessed  to  give  |  than  to  receive." 

Prepositions  and  conjunctions  are  always  more  closely 
united  with  the  words  they  precede  than  those  they  follow. 
Froi  1  the  preceding  rules,  the  student  will  perceive  how 
few  are  the  grammatical  connections  which  absolutely  re- 
fuse a  suspension  of  vocality  for  the  sake  of  taking  breath. 
The  only  words,  indeed,  which  seem  too  intimately  con- 
nected to  admit  a  pause  between  them  are  the  article  and 
subs:antive,  the  substantive  and  adjective  in .  their  natural 
order,  and  the  preposition  and  the  noun  it  governs. 

I  have  introduced  the  old  rhetorical  rules  for  pausing 
in  fill,  because  in  teaching  reading,  of  late,  the  subject 
has  been  much  neglected.  Audible  punctuation  demands 
a  g]  eater  number  of  pauses  than  are  used  in  writing,  for 
the  reason  that  the  voice  of  the  reader  takes  the  place  of 
the  written  page  to  the  hearer;  hence,  audible  pausing  is 
as  ]iecessary  to  a  clear  understanding  of  a  subject  as  the 
punctuation  marks  which  aid  the  eye. 

1  he  reader  who  observes  the  rules  of  pausing  where  the 
sen  ;e  permits,  and  utilizes  these  pauses  to  renew  his  breath, 
will  never  be  compelled  to  break  in  upon  the  sense,  and, 
the  efore,  weaken  or  obscure  it. 


374  Murdoch's  Elocution, 

The  length  of  pauses  is  only  relative;  the  following 
marks  distinguish  four  comparative  degrees  of  duration : 
Longest  (||  ||);   long  (1|);    short  (  |  );   shortest  ( ' ). 

Pauses  of  Emotion. 

237.  The  pauses  of  emotion  or  of  emphasis,  as  the  term 
indicates,  depend  upon  the  expression  which  is  to  be  given 
language,  and  are  not  determined  by  the  grammatical 
form,  though  sometimes  coincident  with  the  ordinary  divi- 
sions of  sense. 

We  have  seen  that  in  the  pauses  of  sense  there  is  a  cer- 
tain relative  proportion  as  to  the  length;  with  the  pauses 
of  emotion  this  is  not  the  case.  A  pause  of  some  length 
is  often  used,  either  immediately  before  or  after  some  word 
or  phrase  of  peculiar  importance,  on  which  we  wish  to  fix 
the  attention  of  the  hearer. 

The  pause  before  awakens  curiosity  or  expectation;  and 
the  pause  after  refers  the  mind  back  to,  or  holds  it  upon, 
the  last  utterance.  This  may  be  called  the  emphatic  pause. 
It  produces  a  most  striking  effect,  but,  like  all  other  strong 
emphasis,  should  not  be  used  unless  justified  by  the  im- 
portance of  the  case. 

**And  now  abideth  faith,  hope,  charity,  these  three;  but  the 
greatest  of  these  is  [  charity." 

"And  Nathan  said  unto  David,  Thou  |  art  the  man." 

**  He  woke  |  to  die!" 

"But  hush!  I  hark!  |  a  deep  sound  strikes  like  a  rising  knell." 

"Socrates  died  like  a  philosopher,  but  Jesus  Christ  like  a  |  God," 
(or  1  like  a  God). 

"  As  long  as  an  armed  foe  remained  in  my  country,  I  would 
never  lay  down  my  arms;  no;  never,  ||  never,  ||  ||  never." 


Pauses.  375 


In  all  intensely  impassioned  language  expressive  of  that' 
labor  of  the  mind  which  seems  to  choke  and  retard  utter- 
ance, as  in  strong  and  suppressed  grief,  rage,  etc.,  frequent 
pauses  occur,  arising  from  the  necessity  of  deep  inhalation 
and  consequent  expansion,  to  refill  the  lungs  after  the  air 
has  leen  driven  from  them.  The  necessary  effort  must  be 
perceptible,  and  is  an  aid  in  natural  expression. 

The  mental  suffering  causes  a  loss  of  the  holding  power, 
and  ive  speak  in  the  exhausting  breath  when  only  two  or 
three  words  can  be  uttered  in  one  expiration,  and  these 
remarkable  inhaling  pauses  produce  Broken  Melody.  We 
have  an  example  of  this  in  the  language  of  Eve  imploring 
Adan's  forgiveness,  as  found  in  ^^  Paradise  Lost:" 

"On  me  |  exercise  not 
Thy  hatred  |  for  this  misery  befallen, 
On  me  |  already  lost,  ||  me  than  thyself 
More»^miserable !  ||  ||  both  |  have  sinned,  ||  but  thou  | 
Against  God  |  only,  1 1|  against  God  |  and  thee ;  || 
And  to  the  place  of  judgment'    will  return,  || 
There  |  with  my  cries'    importune  Heaven,  that  all 
The  sentence  |  from  thy  head  removed,  may  light 
On  me,  ||  sole  cause'    to  thee  |  of  all  this  woe,  |1 
Me,  II  me  only,  Ijjust  object  of  His  ire  !" 

238.  The  sudden  transitions  from  one  state  of  feeling  to 
ancther,  which  mark  almost  all  passionative  language,  are 
in  naost  all  cases  preceded  by  a  pause.  In  all  language, 
the  pauses  correspond  in  length  with  the  character  of  the 
mo/ement.  When  the  movement  is  slow,  as  in  awe,  deep 
gri  ;f,  solemnity,  etc. ,  the  pauses  are  long  -,  while  in  lan- 
gu;.ge  of  hasty  passion  or  eager  impatience,  etc.,  or  in  gay 
and  bright  emotions,  where  the  movement  is  rapid,  the 
pa  ises  are  correspondingly  short. 

^Considering  pauses  from  another  point  of  view,  they 
m:  y  be  regarded  as  almost  universally  the  result  of  empha- 
sis  (and  in   some  cases  of  accent)  for  every  emphatic  or 


376  Mm^docli  s  Elocutio7i. 

strongly  accented  word  is  a  sort  of  central  point  or  nu-> 
cleus,  around  which  others  less  impressive,  and  intimately 
related  in  sense,  naturally  cluster,  the  whole  forming  a 
group  between  pauses,  unless  several  equally  strong  empha- 
ses succeed  each  other,  when  the  words  stand  alone  be- 
tween pauses. 

Sentences,  then,  whether  simple,  complex,  compact,  or 
loose,  are  composed  of  a  number  of  words,  which  accents 
or  emphases  tie  together^  as  it  were,  into  groups  resembling 
long  words,  to  be  marked  off  by  a  pause  of  greater  or  less 
extent.  These  have  been  termed  oratorical  portions  or 
"oratorical  words."  They  have  been  also  called  ''em- 
phasis words."  The  following  marked  passages  will  illus- 
trate the  division  of  sentences  on  this  principle — the  italics 
indicate  the  emphasis : 

"  Alexander — at — a — feast  surrounded — by — flatterers 
heated — with — wine  overcome — by — rage  led — by — a 

concu-bine  is — a — forcible — example  that — the — conqueror — of — king- 
doms may — have — neglected  the — conquest — of — himself. ^^ 

'•  Is — it — not — monstrous,  that — this— player — here, 

But — in — 2l— fiction,  in — a — dream — of — passion, 

Could — force — his — soul  so — to — his — own — conceit" 

**If — it — were — done,  when — His — done,   then — 'twere  well — 
'T  were — done  quickly :  If — the — assassination 
Could  trammel — up — the — consequence,  and — catch, — 
With — his — surcease — success." 

Correct  grouping,  which  is  effected  by  pausing,  may  be 
called  the  articulation  of  sentences.  In  the  language  of  crit- 
icism, in  the  present  day,  it  is  not  an  uncommon  thing  to 
hear  it  spoken  of  as  distinct  articulation. 

Exercises  in  Pausing. 

•'He  gave'     to  misery  |  all'     he  had —  ||  a  tear, 
He  gain'd  |  from  Heaven —  ||  'twas  all  he  wish'd  —  |[a  friend." 


Pauses,  2>77 

"'Tis  hard  to  part  |  when  friends  are  dear,  | 
Perhaps  |  'twill  cost  a  sigh,  ||  a  tear; 
Then  steal  away,  ||  give  little  warning,  || 
Choose  thine  own  time ;  || 

Say  not  [  good  night;  |i  but  in  that  happier  clime  ( 
Bid  me  |  good  morning." 

*Thy  shores  |  are  empires  |  changed  |  in  all  |  save  thee — 
Assyria,  ||  Greece,  ||  Rome,  ||  Carthage,  ||  what  are  they  ?  " 

"Dark  heaving,  ||  boundless,  ||  endless,  ||  and  sublime." 

"  "'he  war  is  inevitable  ||  —  and  let  it  come!  ||  ||  I  repeat  it,  1|  sir,  [[  ||' 
let  i'  II  come." 

"  [f  thou  be'st  he  |  — but  O,  ||  how  fallen!  ||  how  changed!  "  [| 

"Here  lies  the  great, —  |  false  marble!  ||  Where?  ||  1| 
Nothing  II  but  sordid  dust  ||  lies  |  there." 

"  And  his  family  ! —  |  but  he  is  gone;  ||  that  noble  heart  |1  beats  j 
no  riore."  |1 

"This  world,  |  'tis  true. 
Was  made  j  for  Caesar —  ||  but  for  Titus  ||  too." 

"Her    neck    is    bared — 1|  the  blow  is  struck — ||  the    soul  is    passed! 
away !  ||  1| 
T  le  bright —  ||  the  beautiful  ||  is  now  ||  ||  a  bleeding  piece  of  clay  !  " 

"But  come,  |  thou  goddess,  |  fair'    and  free,  | 
In  heav'n  |  yclep'd  |  Euphrosyne,  f 
And  of  men  j  heart-easing  Mirth;  | 
Whom  I  lovely  Venus  |  at  a  birth,  j 
With  I  two  sister  graces  |  more,  [ 
To  ivy-crowned  Bacchus  |  bore." 

"Hop,  I  and  Mop,  |  and  Drap  so  clear,  | 
Pip,  I  and  Trip,  |  and  Skip,  (  that  were,  t 
To  Mab  I  their  sovereign  dear, —  | 
Her  special  maids  j  of  honor." 
M.E.-32. 


Chapter  XXXI. 
Rhythmus  or  Measure  of  Speech. 

239.  All  speech  is  composed  of  a  succession  of  heavy 
and  light  sounds,  or  accented  and  unaccented  syllables, 
produced  by  the  alternate  action  and  reaction  of  the 
larynx,  this  organ  being  subject  to  the  law  of  pulsation  and 
remission  common  to  all  muscular  effort. 

From  this  peculiarity  in  the  construction  of  language,  it 
may  be  divided  into  rhythmical  or  accentual  measures,  as 
in  music,  containing  a  heavy  and  a  light  portion  of  sound, 
and  being  of  about  equal  time  value. 

Taking  the  mark  (/\)  to  represent  the  heavy  or.  ac- 
cented sounds,  and  the  mark  (.-. )  the  light  or  unaccented, 
and  the  bars  (  |  |  ),  as  in  music,  to  distinguish  and  sepa- 
rate one  measure  from  another  to  the  eye,  the  pulsation 
and  remission  of  the  voice  producing  a  measure  may  be 
illustrated  as  follows : 

Spirit  I  spirited  |  spiritual  |  spiritually. 

The  pulsative  act  never  occurs  upon  more  than  one  sylla 
ble  of  a  measure,  because  if  two  or  more  consecutive  sylla- 
bles are  accented,  or  uttered  with  the  pulsative  action  of 
the  organ,  there  will  unavoidably  be  either  a  remissive 
action  at  the  termination,  or  a  pause  corresponding  with 
the  remission,  by  which  the  organs  recover  themselves 
after  pulsation.  Thus,  if  the  word  hunt  be  uttered  twice 
under  accent  there  will  be  a  perceptible  hiatus  between 
them  corresponding  to  the  remiss  action,  which  pause  or 
(378) 


Measure  of  Speech,  379 

rest,  with  the  pulsative  action  on  hunt,  would  constitute  the 
time  of  a  full  measure.  The  repetition  of  the  word  occu- 
pies the  same  time  as  |   hunter   |  hunt. 

The  unaccented  portion  of  a  measure  may,  however,  be 
divic.ed  among  as  many  as  four  syllables,  as  illustrated  in 
the  vord  spiritually,  already  marked,  this  word  occupying 
no  greater  length  of  time  for  the  utterance  than  the  shorter 
wore  I,  spirit,  each  filling  a  measure,  or  defining  the  simple 
acticn  and  reaction  of  the  organs, 

A  single  syllable  of  quantit){  may  constitute  a  measure, 
for  it  may  be  extended  over  the  time  of  a  full  measure,  its 
radical  constituting  the  pulsative  and  heavy  portion,  and 
the  v^anish  the  unaccented  or  light.  Thus,  the  word  Hail! 
utte  ed  with  extended  time,  admits  of  the  pulsation  and  re- 
mise ion  of  the  voice  as  clearly  as  if  it  consisted  of  two 
written  syllables,  thus:    |  Hail!  | 

A      .'. 

240.  A  Perfect  Measure  of  speech  may  consist,  then,  of 
one  'syllable  or  of  any  number,  not  exceeding  five,  uttered 
by   \  pulsative  and  remiss  action  of  the  voice. 

.'^  n  Imperfect  Measure  consists  of  one  in  which  either  the 
ace  jnted  or  unaccented  portion  of  the  measure  is  wanting. 
Tht  silence  is  represented  in  the  marking  by  the  following 
syn  bol  (7).  which  indicates  the  rest  of  the  voice.     Thus: 

•?   In-  I  comparable  I  7  at-  |  tack  7 

A      .-.  A        .-.      .-.  A      .-.  A 

iin  Immutable  Syllable,  such  as  tack,  is  incapable  of  fill- 
ing a  measure  having  no  extent  of  vanish  upon  which  the 
reniss  action  may  take  place. 

M41.  Altogether,  there  are  five  kinds  of  measure  which 
eni  er  into  language  : 

.  The  Emphatic  Measure,  which  consists  of  one  syllable, 
utl  ired  with  long  quantity,  as :     |  Roll  |  on.  | 


380  Murdoc/is  ElocMtion. 

2.  The  Common  Measure,  which  consists  of  two  syllables, 
as: 

Spirit  I  water  |  nature. 

3.  The  Triple  Measure,  which  consists  of  three  syllables, 
the  remissive  portion  of  the  measure  being  divided  be 
tween  two,  as : 

Spirited  |  comedy  |  natural. 

A      .-.  A     .'.      .-.        A    .-.     .-. 

4.  The  Quadruple  Measure,  consisting  of  four  syllables, 
the  remissive  action  being  divided  between  three  of  them, 
as : 


Spiritual  |  comfortable  |  naturally. 

A.-.  .-.  A        .-.  .-.  A     .-.  .-.     .-. 


5.  The  Accelerated  Measure,  which  consists  of  five  sylla- 
bles, four  being  apportioned  to  the  unaccented  portion  of 
the  measure.  It  is  called  the  base  foot,  and  contains  the 
greatest  number  of  syllables  admissable  to  one  pulsative 
and  remiss  effort  of  the  organs;  it  is  not,  except  in  the 
rapidity  of  colloquial  utterance,  much  employed: 

Spiritually  |  voluntarily 

A   .-.  .-.  .-.  .-.        A  .-.      .-.  .-.  .-. 

If  the  I  soul  I  •y  be  I  happily  dis-  |  posed  •^  [everything 
becomes  |  capable  of  af-  |  fording  enter-  |  tainment. 

A     .••     .-.       .-.      .-.  A  .-.         .-.     .-.  A 

Such  a  measure  necessitates  extreme  acceleration  or  ra- 
pidity in  its  utterance,  and  would,  therefore,  in  a  more  dig- 
nified reading,  be  broken  up  into  two  measures;   thus. 


Capable  |  •?  of  af-  |  fording. 

A  •  •  '  •  •  A  • 


Measure  of  Speech.  381 

Shikespeare  and  Milton,  the  poets  most  distinguished  for 
the  happy  mechanism  of  their  verse,  never  employed  more 
than  four  syllables  in  a  measure.  The  common  and  triple 
measure  predominates  in  all  poetry.  Prose  embraces  all 
kind;  in  its  less  regulated  utterances. 

242.  In  the  study  of  this  subject,  it  must  be  remembered 
that  there  are  not  only  s)^lables,  but  many  words,  in  sen- 
tenc'is,  that  are  unaccented,  and  such  words  belong  to  the 
remiss  portions  of  the  different  speech  measures. 

Ir  the  sentence,  "Truth  is  the  basis  of  excellence,"  the 
words  truth,  basis,  and  excelleiice  have  accented  syllables. 
The  other  words  have  no  accents.  The  latter  must,  there- 
fore, be,  as  it  were,  ''hooked  on"  to  the  more  prominent 
words  in  the  different  measures  of  speech  in  such  a  man- 
ner that  they  may  be  pronounced  during  the  remiss  action 
of  tie  voice.  They  will  thus  neither  receive  an  undue  sig- 
nificance, nor  interfere  with  the  general  flow  of  utterance 
during  the  sentence. 

V'ords,  independently  of  each  other,  convey  but  one, 
certiin,  limited  meaning.  By  uniting  them  together,  these 
sigr  ifications  are  either  restrained  or  enlarged.  In  this 
unison,  the  most  significant  words  adopt  the  accent,  whilst 
the  others  are  slurred  over  as  unaccented  syllables  of  the 
sane  word.  The  whole  is  known  as  an  oratorical  word, 
anc  it  is  either  comprised  within  one  measure,  or  is  broken 
up  in  such  a  manner  as  to  form  imperfect  measures. 

There  are  also  certain  parts  of  speech  that  are  naturally 
slui  red  over  in  discourse  to  give  prominence  to  more  im- 
portant  words;  as,  articles,  conjunctions,  prepositions,  auxil- 
iaries, relatives,  unimportant  pronouns,  the  verb  to  be,  and 
sor  letimes  the  adjective.  Connected  discourse  throws  the  ac- 
cei  t  upon  words  of  more  significance,  to  which  these  become 
un  ted  as  modifying  syllables.  They  are  then  pronounced 
du  ing  the  remiss  action  of  the  vocal  organs,  and  belong  to 
the   unaccented   portion  of  the   different   speech  measures. 


382  MurdocJi  s  Elocution. 

If  I  say,  Water — boy — in — fish — saw — a — the,  as  though 
I  were  reading  the  words  from  a  vocabulary,  each  word 
will  have  the  same  accentual  importance,  no  one  being  of 
more  significance  than  the  others,  and  each  will  occupy  a 
full  measure  of  speech.  But  if  I  now  join  these  words  so 
as  to  make  a  complete  sentence  of  them,  a  change  will 
takej)lace  in  their  utterance;  cyie  half  of  them  will  lose 
their  accents,  and  will  be  slurred  over  to  give  prominence 
to  the  more  important  words :  The — boy  saw  a — fish  in — 
the — water.  The  sentence  becomes  one  of  four  significant 
words  to  which  modifying  syllables  are  added  to  show  the 
relation  these  words  bear  to  each  other.  Divided  or  scored 
according  to  the  measure  of  speech,  they  would  stand  as 
follows : 

•7  The  I  boy  7  |  saw  */  |  7  a  |  fish  7  |  *7  in  the  |  water.* 

A         .••  A  A         .-.       A     .-.  A        •.       A      .-.        .-.  A      .-. 

243.  When  the  relative  value  of  the  accented  and  the 
unaccented  syllables  of  speech  is  not  observed,  or  is  oves- 
borne  by  extreme  effort  to  articulate  distinctly,  the  result  is 
a  mouthing  utterance,  by  which  the  unaccented  syllables 
are  brought  into  undue  prominence,  and  the  natural  move- 
ments of  the  voice  through  the  measure  of  speech  de- 
stroyed. This  tedious  and  halting  utterance  is  observable 
in  the  reading  of  the  child  who  takes  every  word  to  be  of 
equal  value,  and  proceeds  by  accent  or  heavy  movement 
alone,   thus: 

The    I  boy  •f  |  saw  7  |  a  7  |  fish  */  |  in  7  |  the      [  water. 

A       .-.         A         .-.  A  A     .•.  A       ••.         A     .-.         A       .-.  A     .-. 

Instead  of   the  smooth  flowing  utterance  of  the  measured 


*  These  groups  of  words  have  the  effect  of  one  long  word,  and 
have  been  called  oratorical  words.  For  a  full  explanation  of  ora- 
toncal  words  see  Emphasis,  If  264. 


Measure  of  Speech.  383 

sounds   as   first   scored   in   this   example  according   to   the 
natuial  utterance. 

On  the  other  hand,  language  is  often  enfeebled  by  allow- 
ing Nords  to  drop  from  the  organs  on  the  remiss  action 
whicti  should  have  an  accentual  value.  In  this  way,  the 
nour  is  often  sunk  to  a  subordinate  position,  as  if  implied 
or  understood  in  the  sentence,  while  the  adjective  main- 
tains a  prominent  position.  Thus,  in  Mercutio's  descrip- 
tion of  Queen  Mab,  I  have  heard  these  lines  read  in  the 
folio  A^ing  manner : 

"7  Her  I  wagon  spokes  |  made  of  long  |  spinner's  legs. 

^\hen,  in  order  to  convey  the  just  emphasis,  it  would 
ado]  it  the  following  measure : 

^  Her  I  wagon  |  spokes  |  made  of  |  long  |  spinner's  |  legs.    , 

/.        .-.  A       .-.  A       .-.  A  A    .-.  A        .-.  A      .*. 

Tiis  is  a  frequent  fault  of  emphasis,  serving  to  give  un- 
due prominence  to  the  adjective  and  slurring  the  noun. 

244.  Emphasis  falling  upon  different  words  of  the  same 
sentence  under  different  significations  will  alter  the  divi- 
sion 5  of  its  measures.     To  illustrate  : 

/    I  7  will  I  walk  with  him. 
A.-.    A     .-.  A 

1  hat  is,   not  you  will  walk  with  him. 

•7  I  I  will  I  walk  with  him. 

1  hat  is,   I  am  determined  to  walk  with  him. 

I  will  I  walk  I  with  him. 
That  is,   I  will  not  ride. 

I  will  I  walk  with  |  him. 
That  is,  not  with  her. 


384  MurdocJi  s  Elocution. 

245.  Two  or  more  accented  syllables  of  long  quantity, 
following  in  immediate  succession,  are  generally  extended 
over  the  time  of  a  whole  measure,  though  this  is  at  the 
option  of  the  reader  or  speaker,  and  according  to  the  sense 
or  sentiment  of  the  language.  Thus,  the  following  line 
may  be  read  according  to  either  of  the  scorings  here  given. 
The  heavy  (l\)  and  light  (.*. )  marks  will  be  omitted  in 
the  scorings  to  follow : 

Rocks,  1  caves,  [  lakes,  |  fens,  |  bogs,  and  [  shades  of  j  death, 

Or, 

Rocks,  •f  I  caves,  •y  |  lakes,  •?  |  fens,  •f  |  bogs,  and  |  shades  of  | 
death. 

Two  or  more  immutable  syllables  coming  together  always 
f  equire  a  measure  for  each,  with  a  pause  on  the  unaccented 
portion. 

Back,  •y  I  back  •^  |  on  your  |  lives. 

Mutable  syllables,  however,  if  strongly  emphatic,  may 
be  extended  so  as  to  fill  up  their  respective  measures  when 
coming  in  immediate  succession,  thus : 

Yet,  I  O  I  Lord  |  God,  |  most  |  holy. 

246.  The  voice  always  moves  from  heavy  to  light,  or 
from  accent  to  unaccented.  If,  therefore,  a  line  or  sen- 
tence begins  with  an  unaccented  syllable,  the  first  measure 
is  necessarily  imperfect,  the  accented  portion  being  marked 
by  a  rest,  thus: 

•^  In  the  I  second  |  century  |  •f  of  the  |  Christian  |  era. 
•y  How  I  vain  |  •^  are  |  all  things  j  here  be-  |  low. 


Measure  of  Speech.  385 

Respiration,  measure,  and  rhythm  ahke  require  pauses, 
whicli  prevent  the  words  from  becoming  entangled  with 
each  other,  and  enable  the  mind  to  perceive  their  connec- 
tions and  meaning  with  perfect  facility. 

A  whole  measure,  or  even  two  or  more,  may  be  pissed 
over  in  silence  when  the  longer  pauses  of  discourse  require 
such  continued  suspension  of  the  voice.  Thus,  in  the  fol- 
lowing sentence,  before  quoted  as  strongly  emphatic,  a 
pausi  of  an  entire  measure  would  occur,  beside  the  shorter 
rests  arising  from  the  imperfect  measures. 

Back  •^  I  "^  to  thy  I  punishment !  |  •f  •f  |  false  |  fugitive. 

P  luses  extending  through  more  than  a  measure  are  illus- 
trate d  in  the  scoring  of  the  next  passage : 

Then  shall  be  |  brought  to  |  pass  |  •^  the  |  saying,  |  •^  "f  | 
Dea  ;h  I  iy  is  I  swallowed  |  up  •^  |  •^  in  |  victory.  1  •y  ^  |  •y  •y  I  O  | 
deatti !  |  where  is  thy  |  sting?  |  ^^  •^  |  t^  t^  |  O  |  grave !  1  •/  ^  I 
whe  -e  is  thy  |  victory  ?  |  •^  •^  |  •^  *^\^  The  |  sting  of  |  death  | 
•^  is  I  sin  ;  1  "y  •^  I  •^  and  the  [  strength  of  |  sin  |  •^  is  the  |  law. 

2^7.  From  the  accentual  character  of  words,  imperfect 
mei  sures  must  often  occur  in  speech,  and  their  pauses,  to- 
get  ler  with  the  measures  of  complete  silence,  permit  a 
corstant  supply  of  breath  to  the  speaker  without  destroying 
the  rhythm  of  language. 

'  'he  pauses  which  a  clear  utterance  of  the  meaning  re- 

quires  are  always  proportioned  in  their  length  to  the  pre- 

vai.ing   character  of  the   emotions   which    predominate   in 

any   given    passage,    and   consequently  to   the   current   of 

tin  e,  during  the  audible  successions  of  the  sounds  of  the 

vo  ce  from  phrase  to  phrase,  or  from   clause  to  clause,  in 

ev  :ry  sentence.     The  necessity  of  the  close  observance  of 

mt  asured   beats   and   frequent   rests   in   reading,    until   the 

sti  dent  has  acquired  a   perfect  control  over  the  pulsative 
M.  E.— 33. 


^86  Murdoch's  Elocution. 

action  of  speech  in  its  relation  to  force  and  measure,  will 
readily  be  perceived  by  attempting  to  read  with  impas- 
sioned force  any  piece  of  vehement  or  bold  declamation, 
such  as  Macduff's  "Awake!  awake!  ring  the  alarm  bell," 
etc.  'Unless  a  metrical  rhythmus  is  observed  in  such  reci- 
tation, with  frequent  pauses,  however  short,  added  to  those 
marked  in  the  punctuation,  the  reader  will  find  himself 
constantly  out  of  breath. 

248.  In  the  production  of  speech,  the  muscles  of  the 
larynx  are  subservient  to  the  will  in  a  certain  sense  of 
conformity  to  the  laws  of  other  related  organic  actions  con- 
trolling the  processes  of  inspiration  and  expiration.  The 
pulsation  and  remission  of  the  heart  acts  at  periodic  inter- 
vals with  the  action  and  reaction  of  the  glottis,  both  func- 
tions being  necessarily  sympathetic  with  the  intermitting 
regularity  of  the  organic  function  of  breathing. 

Thus,  by  a  subtle  law  of  natural  affinity,  these  compli- 
cated movements,  partly  voluntary  and  partly  involuntary, 
when  not  interfered  with,  produce  a  general  effect  without 
any  interference  with  individual  laws.  The  whole  of  this 
wonderful  mechanism  works  by  the  natural  laws  of  pulsa- 
tive  and  remiss  action.  The  single  pulsing  act  of  each 
organ  with  its  remiss  operation,  or  that  by  which  the  ex- 
erted organs  regain  their  position,  may  be  illustrated  in  the 
repeated  movements  of  opening  and  shutting  the  hand. 

It  must  be  apparent  that  any  disturbance  of  the  periodic 
and  closely  related  action  of  the  heart,  lung^,  and  glottis 
must  result  in  injury  or  destruction  to  such  sensitive  organ- 
ism. If,  then,  a  person's  method  of  speaking  be  such  as 
interferes  with  these  processes,  just  in  proportion  to  the  de- 
gree of  interference  will  it  be  injurious  to  the  general  health 
and  to  that  of  the  organs  themselves,  and  in  the  same  pro- 
portion imperfect  and  ineffective  as  an  expressive  agent. 

249.  The  word  rhythm  implies,  by  its  etymology,  a  refer- 
ence to  the  flow  or  current  of  the  stream  of  voice  through 


Measure  of  Speech,  387 

the  measure  of  speech.  There  are  two  different  modes  of 
emp  oying  the  measures  of  speech :  one  proceeds  by  regu- 
lar lepetitions  or  recurrence  of  the  same  measure,  and  is 
calkd  verse;  the  other  presents  no  regularly  ordered  succes- 
sion or  arrangement  of  any  of  these  measures,  but  employs 
all,   and  is  called  prose. 

All  poetry  is  based  upon  either  the  common  or  the  triple 
measure,  its  rhythmus,  in  either  case,  consisting  for  the 
mos:  part  of  either  of  these  two  measures,  and  constituting 
eithir  common  or  triple  time  poetry. 


EXAMPLE   OF   COMMON   TIME   POETRY. 

Knc  w  I  then  thy  |  self,  ^  |  7  pre  |  sume  not  |  God  to  |  scan ;  | 
•7  The  I  proper  |  study  |  ^^  of  1  man  |  kind  |  •y  is  |  man.  | 


EXAMPLE   OF   TRIPLE   TIME   POETRY. 

•^  What  a  1  rapturous  ]  song,  | 
•f  When  the  |  glorified  |  throng  | 
•jf  In  the  I  spirit  of  ]  harmony  |  join. 

In  either  style  of  poetry,  other  measures  besides  that 
giv  ng  its  character  to  the  verse,  are  occasionally  intro- 
du(  ed,  and  rests  of  various  lengths  render  the  imperfect 
meisure  a  necessity.  An  emphatic  measure  is  also  occa- 
sio  lally  used  to  relieve  the  ear  from  the  monotony  of  the 
un  ^aried  successions  of  the  same  measure. 

:;50.  The  great  art  of  the  poet  consists  in  such  a  nice 
adjustment  of  the  different  measures,  and  of  the  several 
res:s  of  the  voice,  as  shall  produce  an  agreeable  variety 
wi  hout  disturbing  too  much  the  regularity  of  the  mech- 
an  sm  of  his  verse. 


388  Mui^docJi  s  Elocution. 

The  difference  between  the  mechanism  of  prose  and  verse 
consists  in  the  indiscriminate  employment  of  all  the  measures 
of  speech  in  prose,  whereas  in  verse  either  the  common 
or  triple  measure  prevails.  An  agreeable  rhythm  in  prose, 
however,  requires  that  while  there  are  no  fixed  responses 
in  the  measures,  there  is  a  certain  regularity  in  their  recur- 
rence, and  in  the  adjustment  of  pauses,  which  produces  an 
effect  something  akin  to  the  rhythmical  flow  of  verse. 

The  poetical  spirit  pervading  elevated  prose  naturally 
demands  the  harmonious  effects  of  numbers,  and  an  artistic 
writer  will  adopt  in  such  cases  that  rhythmical  flow  of 
words  which  approaches  very  nearly  to  the  regularity  of 
poetry,  and  is  called  numerous  prose. 

In  certain  states  of  exaltation,  numbers  present  them- 
selves so  readily  to  the  mind  that  verses  of  all  kinds  may 
be  frequently  found  in  the  prose  writings  of  an  author. 
Charles  Dickens,  in  his  most  imaginative  passages,  displays 
so  exact  an  ear  for  the  metrical  flow  of  sound  in  language 
that  many  passages  from  his  novels  display  a  rhythm  as 
regular  and  beautiful  as  that  of  poetry  itself.  The  same  is 
true  of  Scott,  and  of  our  own  Irving,  and  indeed  of  many 
of  the  best  prose  writers.  But  the  rhythm  of  prose  is 
necessarily  much  more  varied  than  that  of  verse;  first,  be- 
cause a  verse  is  included  within  comparatively  small  limits, 
while  prose  often  runs  through  long  periods ;  and,  secondly, 
because  verse  is  always  in  some  degree  uniform,  and  flows 
in  one  stream,  while  prose,  unless  it  be  varied  in  its  rhyth- 
mus,  offends  by  monotony. 

251.  The  best  poetical  rhythmus  is  that  which  admits  of 
occasional  deviations  from  the  current  of  accentuation,  so 
ordered  that  they  may  not  continue  long  enough  to  de- 
stroy the  general  character  of  regularity,  whilst  the  most 
skillfully  arranged  prose  is  that  constantly  showing  the  be- 
ginning of  a  regular  rhythmus,  or  metrical  succession,  which 
loses  itself  in  a  new  series  of  measures  before  the  ear  has 


Measure  of  Speech.  389 

time  to  become  impressed  with  ahy  determinate   order   of 
acceit  or  quantity. 

Tlie  rhythmical  beauty  of  language  arises  as  much  from 
the  pauses  or  rests  of  the  voice  as  from  the  admeasure- 
men:  of  the  syllables  to  a  certain  metrical  order.  Pauses, 
properly  employed,  give  an  agreeable  effect  of  variety  to 
langaage,  dividing  the  portions  of  discourse  into  what  are 
called  pausal  sections.  By  varying  the  number  of  ac- 
centual measures  between  the  boundaries  of  these  pauses, 
an  agreeable  effect  is  produced,  which  is  lost  in  the  mo- 
notcny  of  more  regularly  measured  divisions.  This  may 
be  i  lustrated  by  an  extract  taken  from  the  writings  of  the 
Rev.   Robert  Hall: 

Without  God  in  the  World. 

"  ^  The  ex  |  elusion  |  •^  of  a  Su  |  preme  |  Being,  |  ^  and  of  a  | 
supcrin  |  tending  |  providence,  |     |  tends     di  |  rectly  |  •^    to    the 
de  I  struction  |  •^  of  |  moral  |  taste.  |    |    |  •^  It  |  robs  the  |  uni- 
ver^  e  I  •^    of  |  all    |    finished  |   •^    and  con   |  summate  |  excel- 
len(  e,    |    |    even   in    i  |  dea.    |     |     |    "7  The  |  admi  |  ration  of 
per  act   |    wisdom    and  |   goodness,  |  •y    for  |  which  we    are 
forr  led.    |    •^    and    which  |  kindles  |  ^   such  un  |  speakable 
rap  ure  |  •^  in  the  |  soul,  1    |  finding  in  the  |  regions  of  |  scept 
cisi  1  I  nothing  |  ^^  to  |  which  it  corres  |  ponds,  |  droops  j  ^  and 
Ian  juishes.  |      |     |  •^  In  a  |  world  |  ^  which  pre  |  sents  a  |  fair 
spe  :tacle  |  •^  of  |  order  and  |  beauty,  |  •^  of  a  |  vast  |  family,  | 
noi  rished  |  •^  and  sup  |  ported  |  •^   by   an    Al  |  mighty  |   Par- 
ent;  |    I  •^  in  a  I  world,  |  •^  which  |  leads  the  de  |  vout  |  mind, 
ste:)   by  I  step,  |  •^  to  the  |  contem  |  plation  |  •^  of   the  | 'first 
fail  I  •^  and  the  |  first  |  good,  |    |  "^  the  |  sceptic  |  "^  is  en  |  com- 
pa5  sed  with  I  nothing  |  •^  but  ob  ]  scurity,  (  meanness,  |  *^  and 
dis  I  order.  |      |      | 

'  When  we  re  |  fleet  on  the  |  manner  |  "^  in  |  which  the  i  |  dea 
of  I  Deity  |  •^  is  |  formed,  |    |  •^  we  |  must    be    eon  |  vinced  |  ^ 
thi  t  I  such    an    i  |  dea,  |  intimately  |  present   to    the  |  mind,  | 
mv  st  I  have    a    most  |  powerful  ef  |  feet  |  •^  in  re  |  fining   the  j 


390  Murdoch's  Elocution. 

moral   |   taste.  |      |      |  "^  Com  |  posed    of    the  |  richest  |  ele- 
ments, I  •^  it  em  I  braces,  |  ^  in  the  |  character  ]  "^  of  a  be  |  nefi- 
cent  I  Parent  |  *^   and  Al  |  mighty  |  Ruler,  |  •^  what  |  ever  is  | 
venerable  |  "^  in  |  wisdom,  |    |  •^  what  |  ever  is  |  awful  |  •^  in  au-  | 
thority,  |      |  ^  what  |  ever  is  |  touching  |  •^  in  |  goodness."  |    |    j 

The  following  passage  from  Dickens,  whose  writings 
abound  in  similar  instances,  will  furnish  an  example  of  the 
charm  of  rhythmic  prose : 

"  Dear,  |  gentle,  |  patient,  |  noble  |  Nell  |  was  |  dead.  |  *7  7  | 

A    .•.  A    .-.  A        .■•  A    .-.  A      .•.        A    .••      A    .*.  A      .-. 

7  Her  I  little  |  bird,  |  7  a  |  poor  7  |  slight  7  |  thing,  |  7  the  | 

A    .-.  A    .-.  A    .-.  A  .-.  A  A  A      .-.  A 

pressure  of  a  |  finger  would  have  |  crushed,  7  |  7  was  |  stirring  | 

A        .-.        .-.     .-.        A      .-.  .-.  .-.  A  .-.        A        .-.  A     .-. 

nimbly  |  7  in  its  |  cage,  [  7  and  the  |  strong  |  heart  |  7  of  its  | 

A    .-.  A    .-.      .-.  A      .-.        A        .-.  .-.  A        ••  A      .-.        A      .-.      .-. 

child-  I  mistress  |  7   was  |  still  |  7  and  |  motionless  |  7  for  | 


ever. 

A    .-. 


252.  From  the  preceding  study  of  principles  and  exam 
pies,  the  student  will  now  be  prepared  to  understand  the 
following  definition  of  rhythm,  in  our  language,  considered 
in  its  broadest  and  most  comprehensive  sense. 

Rhythm  in  speech  is  a  measured  succession  of  sounds  in 
which  accent^  quantity^  and  pause  are  so  proportioned  and 
arranged  as  to  produce  upon  the  ear  an  agreeable  smooth- 
ness and  regularity  of  effect. 

253.  Rhythmus  has  been  well  described  by  a  Greek 
writer  as  supporting  or  sustaining  the  voice.  This  it  does 
by  leading  it  with  an  easy  step  through  every  variety  of 
melody,  stress,  quantity,  and  movement,  with  that  perfect 
and  natural  regularity  of  organic  action  by  which,  no  matter 
how  rapid  or  vehement  the  utterance,  the  words  are  pre- 
vented from  stumbling  against  or  running  into  each  other, 
as  it  were,  and  thus  thwarting  the  expectation  of  both  the 
mind  and  the  ear. 


Measure  of  Speech.  391 

Within  the  limits  of  artistic  eifect,  therefore,  rhythm  is 
an  ad  and  an  ornament  to  utterance,  but  it  will  become  a 
defo  "mity  if  made  too  prominent  and  obtrusive.  Thus, 
whih  the  lack  of  a  firmly  marked  rhythm  produces  a  wan- 
dering and  uncertain  effect  upon  the  ear,  on  the  other 
banc  I,  the  extreme  of  marking  the  time  or  ''beat"  of  the 
meaiure  too  pointedly,  and  with  a  jerking  accent,  offends 
the  iar,  resembling  a  music  lesson  in  which  the  measure  is 
accompanied  by  a  heavy  or  exaggerated  beat,  in  order  to 
impiove  the  pupil  whose  organ  of  time  is  dull. 

A  strongly  marked  rhythm  in  reading,  especially  in 
verse,  will  also  become  a  weary  monotony  if  the  melody  be 
not  diversified  to  meet  the  demands  of  a  just  variety,  and 
the  expressive  character  of  the  language. 

2j4.  A  thorough  knowledge  of  the  rules  governing  ver- 
sification is  very  necessary  in  a  study  of  rhythm;  this 
should  be  studied  from  a  standard  text-book  of  rhetoric. 
Accent,  quantity,  and  pause  being  of  equal  value  in 
rhy  hm,  the  metrical  construction  of  a  poem  must  be  un- 
derstood before  it  can  be  well  rendered. 

/.  poem  must  not  only  be  perfect  in  its  form, — and  meter 
alojie,  is  the  mechanical  part, — but  it  must  equally  charm  the 
ear  in  delivery.  In  the  recitation  of  a  poem,  we  add  to 
its  iccents,  or  metrical  feet,  for  the  purpose  of  expression, 
tim^,  and  pause;  this  never  interferes  with  the  accent,  for 
the  reason  that  the  accent  always  marks  the  strong  beat 
of  the  measure.  In  Iambic  verse  the  scansion  would  be : 
Advanced  |  in  view  |  they  stand  |  a  hor  |  rid  front.  |  * 

(Conforming  to  the  rules  of  rhythm,  the  same  line  would 
be  rendered  thus : 
•y/.d  I  vancedin  |  view  |  *^  they  |  stand  |  •^a  |  horrid  |  front.  •^  | 

The  teacher  should  allow  the  student  to  write  a  line  upon  the 
bla:kboard  in  one  of  these  forms  of  verse,  and  then  mark  it  as  it 
sh(  uld  be  read. 


392  Murdoch' s  Elocution. 

Anapestic  meter  moves  in  the  same  manner;  trochaic 
and  dactylic,  beginning  with  the  accented  syllable,  move 
with  the  rhythm.  For  a  complete  study  of  prosodial  and 
rhythmical  accent  combined,  see  the  ' '  Revision  of  Vocal 
Culture j^'  by  the  Rev.   Francis  T.   Kussell. 

•7  "My  I  Lords,  •^  |  •^  "^  |  I   am  a  |  mazed,  I  •^  •^  |  yes,   ndy  ] 
Lords,  •f  I  I  am  a  |  mazed  at  his  |  Grace's  |  speech.  I  7  *?  I  "f  7  I 
•^  The  I  noble  |  Duke  |  can  not  |  look  be  |  fore  him,  |  •^  be  |  hind 
him,  I  •f  or  on  I  either  |  side  of  him,  |  •f  with  |  out  •^  |  seeing  | 
some   •f  I  noble  |  peer  •f  |  *^  who  |  owes    his  |  seat  •f  |  in  this  | 
house  I  •f  to  his  sue  |  cessful  ex  |  ertions  |  *^  in  the  pro  |  fession  | 
•^  to  I  which  •^  I  I  be  I  long.     "^  |  t^  t^  |  t^  t^  |  Does   he  not  |  feel 
•jf  I  that  it  is  as  |  honorable  |  •y  to  |  owe  it  to  |  these  |  •^  as  to  | 
being  the  |  accident  |  "^  of  an  |  accident  ?  |  "^  «7  |  "^  «7  |  •^  To  |  all 
these  I  noble  |  Lords,  •jf  |  •^  the  |  language  of  the  |  noble  |  Duke 
•y  I  is  as  j  applicable  ]  and  as  in  |  suiting  |  •^  as  it  |  is  to  my  |  self 
•jf  I  "^  "^  I  •^  •^  I  But  I  I  do  not  I  fear  •^  |  ^^  to  |  meet  it  |  single  [ 
•f  and  a  |  lone.  •^  |  •^  •^  |  •^  •^  |  No  one  |  venerates  the  |  peerage  | 
more  than  |  I  do.  |  •^  "^  |  But,  my  |  Lords,  •^  |  •^  I  |  must  •^  \  say 
•7  I  •^  that  the  1  peerage  |  •f  so  |  licited  |  me,  |  •^  "^  |  •^  not  ]  I  | 
•/thelpeerage.  |-7«7|7«;| 

"  Nay,  •^  I  more,  |  "^  "f  |  •^  I  |  can  and  |  will  ty  |  say  ^^  |  •^  "^  | 
that,  as  a  |  peer  of  |  parliament,  |  •^  •^  |  "^  as  |  speaker  |  •^  of  this  | 
right  I  honorable  |  house,  |  ^7  "^  |  "^  as  |  keeper  of  the  |  great  *^  \ 
seal,   •^  I  •^  "^  I  •^  as  I  guardian  |   ^  of   his  |  majesty's  |  con- 
science, I  •y  •^  I  •^  as  I  Lord  |  High  |  Chancellor  of  |  England,  | 
•7  •^  I  nay,  •^  |  even  in  |  that  |  character  |  •^  a  |  lone,  |  •^  in  | 
which  the  |  noble  |  Duke  •^  |  •^  would  |  think  it  an  af  |  front  •^  | 
•f  to  be  con  |  sidered,  |  •^  but  |  which  |  character  |  none  can 
de  I  ny   "^  |  me,  "^  j  "^  •^  |  as   a  |  Man,  •^  |  •^   1  |  am  at  this  |  mo- 
ment I  as  re  |  spectable,  |  •/  *f  I  7  ^  ^^^  7  I  ^^^^^  ^^  I  ^^^'  f  I 
•7  as  I  much  re  |  spected,  |  ^  as  the  |  proudest  |  peer  «7  |  •^  I  | 
now  I  look  I  down  upon."  |  •/  •/  | 

— Lord  Thur low's  Reply  to  the  Duke  of  Grafton. 

"  Most  I  potent,  |  grave,  |  •^  and  |  reverend  |  signiors,  | 
•7 My  I  very  |  noble,  |  "^andap  |  proved  |  good  |  masters;  |  •^•y  | 
That  I  have  |  taken  a  |  way  |  •^  this  |  old  man's  |  daughter,  | 


Measure  of  Speech.  393 

It  is  I  most  I  true ;  |  •^  "^  |  true,  |  •^  I  have  |  married  her ;  | 
•f  T  le  I  very  |  head  and  |  front  |  •^  of  my  of  |  fending  | 
•7  Hath  I  this  ex  |  tent,  [  •^  •^  |  no  |  more.  I  •/  "7  7  7  | 

Rude  I  •^  am  |  I  in  j  my  |  speech,  | 
•7  Aid  I  Uttle  I  bless'd  |  «7  with  the  |  set  |  phrase  of  ]  peace;  ] 

•7  FDr  I  since  |  these  |  arms  of  |  mine  |  •^  had  |  seven  |  years  | 

pith,  I 
•7  Til  I  now,  I  •^  some  |  nine  |  moons  |  wasted,  |  •^  they  have  | 

us'd  I 
•f  Their  |  dearest  |  action  |  *^  in  the  |  tented  |  field;  | 
•7  And  I  little  |  •^  of  this  |  great  |  world  |  •^  can  |  I  |  speak  | 
Mo]  e  than  per  j  tains  |  •t  to  |  feats  of  |  broil  |  ^  and  |  battle ;  | 

•7  A  nd,  I  therefore,  |  little  |  •f  shall  I  |  grace  my  |  cause,  | 
•f  III  I  speaking  ]  ^  for  my  |  self:  ]  "^  "^  |  yet  |  •^  by  your  |  pa- 
tience, I 
I  will  a  I  round,  |  •^  un  |  varnish'd  |  tale  de  |  liver."  ] 

— '*  Othello,''  Shakespeare. 


"Once  I  more  |  unto  the  |  breach  |  dear  |  friends!  \m^\  once  | 

more;  |  "f  7  | 
•7  ( )r  I  close  the  |  wall  up  |  ^  with  our  |  English  |  dead.  |  y^  \ 
•f  In  I  peace  I  ^  "f  I  */  there's  |  nothing  |  so  be  |  comes  a  | 

man  | 
•7  As  I  modest  |  stillness  |  •^  and  hu  |  mility.  |  •^  7  | 
Bu ;  when  the  |  blast  of  |  war  |  •f  "t  |  blows  in  our  |  ears,  | 
Then  |  imitate  the  |  action  |  ^  of  the  |  tiger:  | 
Sti  Ten  the  |  sinews,  |  •f  •t  |  summon  |  up  the  |  blood,  | 
•7  Dis  I  guise  ]  fair  |  nature  |   •*  with  |  hard  |  favor'd  |  rage.  | 

TI  en  I  lend  the  |  eye  |  •t  a  |  terrible  |  aspect ;  | 

•7»  I  Let  it  I  pry  |  thro'  the  |  portage  of  the  |  head,  | 

Li  ce  the  |  brass  |  cannon  ;  |  let  the  |  brow  o'er  |  whelm  it,  j 

•7  Vs  I  fearfully,  |  as  doth  a  |  galled  rock  |  •/  ^  | 

•7  3'er  1  hang  and  1  jutty  |  *^  his  con  |  founded  |  base 

•7  ^  1  Swill'd  with  the  \  wild  |  "^  and  |  wasteful  |  ocean."  |  *^  •j 

— Address  of  Henry  V  to  his  Troops. 


394  Murdoch's  Elocution, 

"  Hail !  j  holy  |  Light,  |    |  offspring   of  |  Heav'n  |  first  |  born,  ( 
I  Or  of  the  E  |  ternal  |    |  co-e  |  ternal  |  beam,  |    | 
May  I  ex  |  press  |  thee  |  un  |  blam'd?  |    ]  •^   Since  |  God  | 

•}  is  I  light.  I 
•7  And  I  never  |  •^  but  in  |  unap  |  proached  |  light  | 
Dwelt  from  e  |  ternity,  |    [  dwelt  |  then  in  |  thee,  | 
I  Bright  I  effluence  |  "^  of  |  bright  |  essence  |  incre  |  ate.  |    | 
•7  Or  I  hears't  thou  |  rather,  |    |  pure  e  |  thereal  |  stream,  | 
•j  Whose  I  fountain  |  who  shall  |  tell  ?  |    |  •^  Be  |  fore    the  | 

sun,  I 
•^  Be  I  fore  the  |  Heav'ns  |  thou  |  wert,  |    |  and  at  the  |  voice  | 
•f  Of  I  God  I    I  as  with  a  (  mantle,  |  •f  didst  in  |  vest  | 
•f  The  I  rising  |  world  of  |  waters  |    |  dark  |  •^  and  j  deep,  |    j 
Won  from  the  |   void   |  *^  and  |  formless  |  infinite."  |    ] 

— "  Apostrophe  to  Light,'^  MiLTON. 

POETIC    EXPRESSION    IN    PROSE. 

"Then  |  sang  |  Moses  |  •y  and  the  |  children  of  |  Israel  |  this  | 
song  I  •^  unto  the  |  Lord,  |  •^  and  |  spake,  |  saying,  |  •^  I  will  | 
sing  unto  the  |  Lord,  |  •y  for  he  hath  |  triumphed  |  gloriously:  | 

I    I  •^   the  I  horse  |  *^  and  his  |  rider  |  *^  hath   he  |  thrown  into 
the  I  sea.  |    |    |  •t  The  |  Lord  |  •^  is  my  |  strength  and  |  song,  | 
•^  and  I  he  is  be  |  come  my  sal  |  vation;  |    |  he  is  |  my  |  God,  j 
•7   and   I  I    will   pre  |  pare   him    an  |  habi  |  tation;  |    |  •f    my  | 
father's  |  God,  j  "^  and  |  I  will  ex  |  alt  him.  |    |    |  •/  The  \  Lord  | 
•^  is  a  I  man  of  |  war :  |  •^  Je  |  hovah  |  •^  is   his  |  name.  |    |    | 
Pharaoh's  |  chariots  ]  •y  and   his  |  host  |  •^  hath  he  |  cast  into 
the  I  sea :  |    |    |  •f  his  |  chosen  |  captains  |  also  |  •^  are  |  drowned 
in  the  |  Red  |  Sea.  |     |     |  •^    The  |  depths  |  •^  have  |  covered 
them :  I    I  •?  they  |  sank  into  the  |  bottom  |  •y  as  a  |  stone.  |    |    | 
Thy  I  right   |   hand,    |  O  |  Lord,  |  is  be    |   come  |  glorious    in  | 
power :  I    |  thy  |  right  |  hand,  |  O  |  Lord,  |  "f   hath  [  dashed    in  | 
pieces  |  •?  the  |  enemy.  |    |    I  •f  And  in  the  |  greatness  of  thine  | 
excellency  |  thou  hast  |  over  |  thrown  |  them  |  *^  that  |  rose  up 
a  I  gainst  thee ;  |    |  "f  thou  |  sentest  forth  thy  j  wrath,  |  •^  which 
con  I  sumed  them,  |  "^  as  |  stubble.  [    |    |  •t  And  with  the  |  blast 
of  thy  I  nostrils  |  •^  the  |  waters  |  •^  were  |  gathered  to  |  gether, 

I    I  •f   the  I  floods  I  stood   |  upright  |  •^    as  an  |  heap,  ]  ^  and 
the  I  depths  |  •^   were   con  |  gealed  |  •y   in  the  |  heart    of  the  | 


Measure  of  Speech.  395 

sea.  I    I    I  •t  The  |  enemy  |  said,  |   I  will  pur  |  sue,  \  I  will  | 
over  I  take,  |  I   will  di  [  vide  the  |  spoil ;  |  •^  my  |  lust  |  •^  shall 
be  I  %i  tisfied  |  •y  up  |  on  them :  j    |  "^  I  will  |  draw  my  |  sword,  | 
•7  my  I  hand  shall  des  |  troy  them.  |    |    |  Thou  didst  |  blow  with 
thy  I  \/ind,  |  •^  the  |  sea  |  covered  them :  |    |  •^  they  |  sank   as  | 
lead  I  ^  in  the  |  mighty  |  waters."  |    |    | 

— Song  of  Moses,  Exodus  xv,   i. 

"•f  The  I  armaments,  |  •^  which  |  thunderstrike  |  •^  the  |  walls  | 
«y  Cf  I  rock-built  |  cities,  |    |  bidding  |  nations  |  quake,  | 
•r  And  I  monarchs  |    |  tremble  |  *^  in  their  |  capitals,  | 
I  *^  The  I  oak    le  |  viathans,  |  •^  whose  |  huge  |  ribs  |  make  | 
•7'  1  heir  |  clay  ere  j  ator  |  •^  the  |  vain  |  title  |  take,  | 
•jf  C  f  I  lord  of  I  thee,  |  ^  and  |  arbiter  of  ]  war!  | 
These  are  thy  |  toys,  |    |  and  as  the  |  snowy  |  flake,  | 
•^  They  |  melt  into  thy  ]  yeast  of  |  waves,  |  •^  which  |  mar  | 
•7  /.  I  like   the   Ar  ]  mada's  |  pride,  |  or  |  spoils    of  |  Trafal-  | 

gar.  I    I 
•^  Thy  I  shores   are  |  empires,   ]     ]  chang'd   in  |  all  |  save  | 

thee,  I 
I    iy  As  I  Syria,  [    |  Greece,  |    |  Rome,  [    |  Carthage,  |    |  what 

are  ]  they?  | 
•7    Thy  I  waters  |  wasted  them  ]    |  while  they  were  |  free,  | 
I  tf   And   I   many   a  |  tyrant  |  since:   ]     |   •^   their  |  shores  | 

7  o  I  bey  I 
•7    The  1  stranger,  |  slave,  |  •f  or  [  savage;  |  ^  their  de  |  cay  | 
•^  Has  I  dried   up  |  realms  |  •y  to  |  deserts,   [     |   not  |   so  | 

thou,  I    I 
Ur    I  changeable,  |    |  save  to  thy  |  wild  |  waves  ]  play:  |    | 
Ti  ne  |  writes  |  no  |  wrinkle  ]  "^  on  |  thine  |  azure  |  brow ;  | 
I    inch  as  ere  ]  ation's  |  dawn  |  7  be  |  held,  |    |  thou  |  roUest  | 

now.  I    I    I 
Tl  ou  I  glorious  |  mirror,  |  where  the  Al  |  mighty 's  |  form  | 
Glasses  it  |  self  in  I  tempests;  I  •^  in  I  all  |  time,  | 
C:  Im  I  ^  or   con  \  vuls'd,  |    [  •/  in  |  breeze,  I  ^^  or  |  gale,  |  ^ 
or  I  storm,  | 
I  Icing  the  |  pole,  |  or  in  the  |  torrid  |  clime  | 
Dirk  I  heaving;   |     |  boundless,  |    |  endless,  |    |  *^  and  sub-  | 
hme."  1    I 

— "  The  Ocean,^'  Byron. 


Chapter  XXXII. 
Accent. 

*55'  When  a  word  of  two  or  more  syllables  is  pro- 
iidunced  simply  without  significance  or  emotion,  there  is 
always  at  least  one  of  the  syllables  distinguished  from  the 
others  by  certain  audible  means :  this  distinction  constitutes 
accent. 

All  syllables  are  either  long  (indefinite  or  mutable),  or 
short  (immutable) ;  the  first  admitting  prolongation  of  time ; 
the  second  can  not  be  lengthened  without  a  mispronuncia- 
tion of  the  syllable  or  word. 

The  syllable  of  a  word  can  not  be  given  on  an  interval 
wider  than  the  second  without  rendering  the  word  in  some 
degree  significant  or  expressive;  simple  accentual  distinc- 
tion, then,  can  not  be  effected  by  the  employment  of 
any  of  the  wider  intervals  of  pitch.  But  the  application 
of  force  and  time,  or  of  stress  and  quantity,  in  connection 
with  the  interval  of  a  second,  are  the  appropriate  means  of 
accentuation.  These  elements,  when  conjoined  with  this 
interval,  are  necessarily  moderate,  and  their  degree  on  the 
accented  syllable  is  only  relatively  greater  than  that  affect- 
ing the  other  syllables  of  the  word. 

Radical  stress,  quantity,  and  the  loud  concrete  are  in 
general  the  means  for  producing  accent  on  immutable,  in- 
definite, and  mutable  syllables.  To  illustrate :  in  the  word 
particular,  the  syllable  tic  being  incapable  of  extension  on 
the  concrete,  can  only  be  brought  under  special  notice  by 
a  sharp  ictus  of  radical  stress,  combined  with  a  discrete 
(396) 


Accent,  397 


rise  of  a  tone.     All  immutable  syllables  receive  accentual 
distil. ction  in  this  way,  as  in  the  following  words: 

Mc^tory,  Ic^tus,  Detect^  Dock^et, 

Tickle,  Pick^le,  Convict^,  Tick^et, 

Knact'',  It^erate,  Pic^ture,  Ac^tion. 

Tl  le  word  beware'  illustrates  the  application  of  the  tefnporal 
accent,   or  that  produced  by  time  or  quantity. 

Hire  the  accented  syllable  is  indefinite,  and  receives  no 
addi;ion  of  force  to  distinguish  it  from  the  adjacent  sylla- 
bles, but  simply  a  slight  extension  of  time.  The  greater 
number  of  indefinite  syllables  take  the  temporal  accent;  of 
such  are, 


^o^ly, 

Glo^rious, 

Dole^ful, 

HLarm^ful, 

Need^ful, 

Groan''ing, 

Sale^ful, 

Per'Tume, 

Game^some. 

It  will  be  observed  that  the  syllables  not  under  the 
acc(  nt  are  always  more  or  less  slurred,  or  thrown  into  com- 
pare tive  insignificance,  both  as  regards  force  and  time, 
whether  they  be  long  or  short.  The  word  perfume',  as  a 
verli,  is  accented  on  the  second  syllable,  and  is  extended 
in  lime;  the  first  syllable  is  uttered  lightly,  and  with  a 
rapi  d  concrete.  Let  the  accent  be  reversed,  as  in  the  noun 
perfume ;  the  first  syllable  is  pronounced  with  a  clear  per- 
cus:  ion ;  the  second,  although  retaining  its  long  vowel 
sou  id,  will  be  very  lightly  and  quickly  uttered. 

256.  The  loud  concrete  may  be  employed  to  accent  such 
woids  as  beg'ging,  godHy,  etc.,  in  which  the  syllables  are  of 
suft  cient  length  to  obviate  the  necessity  of  the  radical  per- 
cusiion  to  give  them  accentual  prominence.  This,  how- 
ever, may  be  added  to  the  loud  concrete  in  accenting 
mu  ;able  syllables.  The  accent  of  the  radical  stress  is  not, 
the  1,  confined  to  immutable  syllables,  nor  the  loud  con- 
cre;e  to  mutable. 


398  Murdoch's  Elocution. 

Radical  stress  may  be  given  on  a  syllable  of  long  quan- 
tity, as  in  the  word  to'tal^  while  many  long  syllables,  having 
the  temporal  accent,  unite  with  it  the  force  of  the  loud 
concrete,  as  in  the  yf or ^s  revenge^ ^  anoint' ^  lo'calj  dole^ful, 
revolu'tion,  etc.  In  the  last  instance,  the  indefinite  sylla- 
ble lu  makes  a  radical  descent  of  a  tone  from  the  line  of 
the  other  syllables.  This  difference  of  a  tone  in  radical 
pitgh,  either  rising  or  falling,  often  aids  in  effecting  the 
accentual  impression. 

Accent  may  thus  be  defined  as  the  fixed  but  inexpres- 
sive distinction  of  one  syllable  from  the  rest,  in  every  word 
of  two  or  more  syllables,  by  the  moderate  application  of 
force  or  time,  or  of  both,  in  connection  with  the  interval 
of  a  simple  second. 

257.  In  the  ordinary  treatment  of  accent,  it  is  resolved 
into  mere  force,  but,  we  have  seen,  it  is  by  no  means  de- 
pendent on  this  element  alone;  in  fact,  the  most  frequent 
form  of  accent  is  the  temporal,  as  in  English  words  the 
accented  syllables  are  generally  the  longest. 

Accent  is  the  source  of  much  variety  in  speech,  and 
forms,  when  adjusted  in  accordance  with  the  law  of  organic 
action,  the  measure  of  rhythmus  of  both  poetry  and  prose. 

When  a  word  is  invested  with  some  particular  signifi- 
cance of  meaning  in  its  relation  to  other  words,  it  becomes 
emphatic,  and  requires  some  more  prominent  display  of 
force  or  other  vocal  elements  tl^an  are  employed  to  produce 
simple  accentual  distinction.  This  display,  however,  is 
always  effected  on  the  accentual  syllable,  which  may,  there- 
fore, be  regarded  as  the  seat  of  life;  in  a  word,  emphasis 
may  be  said  to  occasionally  enforce  or  adorn  the  accent, 
when  the  word  to  which  it  belongs  is  used  to  convey  a  par- 
ticular meaning  in  its  relation  to  thought  or  passion. 


I 


Chapter  XXXIII. 
Emphasis. 

25  S.  Emphasis  is  the  distinctive  utterance  of  one  or 
mort  words,  by  means  of  which  they  are  made  to  impress 
the  Iiearer  with  the  full  effect  of  their  various  degrees  and 
peculiarities  of  meaning.  The  word  emphasis  means,  Hter- 
ally,  ''speaking  into,"  and  implies  a  recognition  of  that 
powi:r  which  spoken  language  or  true  eloquence  possesses, 
of  entering  into  both  ear  and  mind,  or  heart,  as  occasion 
requ  res. 

A ;  accent  acts  among  syllables,  so  emphasis  acts  among 
worc.s,  the  former  serving  to  give  distinctness  and  unity  to 
wore  s,  the  latter  to  give  distinctness  and  unity  to  the 
thoughts  or  emotions  of  sentences,  by  pointing  out  and  en- 
forcing the  peculiar  meaning  of  many  of  the  words  which 
com  )ose  them. 

E  nphasis  may,  then,  be  regarded  as  the  peculiar  distinc- 
tion of  individual  words,  for  the  purpose  of  enforcing  their 
thought  and  passion  through  the  agency  of  the  more  im- 
pres  ive  of  the  vocal  elements^  comprehended  under  the 
seve-al  heads  of  pitch,  time,  force,  quality,  etc.,  or  of  their 
com  )inations. 

T  le  object  of  emphasis  being  to  elevate  words  into  im- 
port mce,  it  may  be  applied  throughout  the  current  of  lan- 
gua^e  to  single  words,  as  they  stand  related  in  sense  to 
several  words  in  succession;  or  it  may  be  employed  on 
solit  iry  interjections;  or  on  one  or  two  words  forming  an 
excl  mation,  for  the  purpose  of  enforcing  their  sentiment 
or  passion. 

(399) 


400  Murdoch! s  Elocution. 

259.  It  now  remains  to  inquire  what  gives  a  word  em- 
phatic value,  or  what  constitutes  its  claim  to  emphasis  or 
unusual  distinction. 

First. — Words  are  emphatic  when  they  possess  a  mean- 
ing which  points  out  or  distinguishes  something  as  distinct 
or  opposite  to  some  other  thing.  This  opposition  consti- 
tutes an  antithesis,  which  may  be  either  expressed  or  un- 
derstood. As  an  example  of  the  antithesis  expressed,  we 
have  the  following  couplet  from  Pope : 

**'Tis  hard  to  say,   if  greater  lack  of  skill 
Appears  vcs.  writings   or  xn  judging  ill." 

Writing  and  judging  are  both  emphatical,  standing  directly 
contrasted.  An  antithesis  understood  is  exemplified  by  the 
following : 

**  Approach,  and  read,  for  thou  canst  read,  the  lay, 
Grav'd  on  the  stone,   beneath  yon  aged  thorn." 

Here  the  words  thou  canst  are  emphatical,  as  they  are 
opposed  to  /  can  not,  which  are  understood.  In  some 
cases,  the  antithesis  is  not  so  obvious,  as  in  the  following, 
in  which  Marcus  Brutus,  in  Addison's  *'  Cato,'^  expresses 
his  indignation  at  the  behavior  of  Caesar : 

"I  am  tortured  even  to  madness,  when  I  think 
Of   the  proud  victor." 

That  is,  not  only  when  I  hear  and  speak  of  him,  but 
even  when  I  think  of  him.     Also,  in  the  following  lines: 

"'Twas  base  and  poor,  unworthy  of  a  man, 
To  forge  a  scroll  so  villainous  and  loose, — 
And  mark  it  with  a  noble  lady's  name." 


Emphasis,  401 


Hire  the  antithesis  to  man  understood  is  sotne  baser 
creat.ire.  That  is,  it  might  be  worthy  of  some  baser 
creature,  but  not  of  a  manly  man. 

260.  Whenever  the  contrariety  or  antithesis  is  expressed, 
we  liave  no  difficulty  in  knowing  which  are  the  emphatic 
wore  s,  but  when  it  is  only  understood,  it  is  more  difficult  to 
distiiguish.  The  best  means  of  determining  the  emphasis 
in  such  sentences,  is  to  take  the  word  we  suppose  to  be 
empiatic,  and  try  whether  it  will  admit  of  those  words 
being  supplied  which  an  emphasis  on  it  would  suggest. 
If  \/-e  find  that  this  paraphrasing  the  sentence  serves  to 
briny  the  meaning  out  clearly,  as  it  seems  to  be  intended 
by  the  author,  we  may  be  sure  the  emphasis  is  well 
plac  id. 

\\e  may,  then,  take  this  as  a  general  rule:  Whenever 
words  are  contrasted  with,  contradistinguished  from,  or  op- 
posed to,  other  words,  they  are  always  emphatical;  empha- 
sis   hrough  antithesis  is  the  most  frequent  form. 

Antithetic  emphasis  is  called  single  when  a  contrast  is 
limi  :ed  to  two  points,  thus : 

"You  were  paid  \.q  fight  Alexander,  not  to  rail  at  him." 

Ii  becomes  double  or  triple  emphasis  when  the  contrasts 
are  double  or  triple,  as  in  the  following  examples : 

"I  would  rather  be  \\\&  first  man  in  that  villagey 
Than  the  second  in  Rome.'''' 

*'  He  raised  a  mortal  to  the  skies. 
She  drew  an  angel  downy 

The   emphasis   of   an    expressed    antithesis    is    never   so 

str(  ng  as  that  of  an  antithesis  understood,  because,  in  the 

latter  case,  the  point  unexpressed  is  only  made  obvious  by 

the   strong   enforcement   of   its   contrary  expressed,   which 

see  ns  to  suggest  it. 
M.  E.-34. 


402  Murdoch's  Elocution, 

Second. — Words  may  also  be  emphatic  when  they  express 
strong  emotion,  or  enforce  an  idea  which  does  not  imply 
contrast,  but  in  which  the  ' '  peculiar  eminence  of  the 
thought  is  solely  considered."  Of  these,  we  have  examples 
in  all  strong  interjections  or  exclamations,  as  in  the  follow- 
ing examples,  the  appropriate  expression  of  which  has  been 
already  described: 

*«Ye  Gods!  ye  Gods,  must  I  endure  all  this!" 

*^  Angels  and  ministers  of  grace,  defend  us!" 

261.  We  also  have  innumerable  instances  of  the  absolute 
emphasis  in  words  used  to  announce,  designate,  or  partic- 
ularize a  subject,  as  thus : 

**Well,   honor  is  the  subject  of  my  story!" 

**It  is  my  design  to  give  an  account  of  the  Italian  Opera,  and  of 
the  progress  it  has  made  upon  the  English  stage." 

There  are  also  many  words  with  simply  more  than  an 
ordinary  meaning,  used  to  state,  modify,  qualify,  etc., 
which  do  not  suggest  contrast,  and  which  yet  demand  a 
certain  amount  of  vocal  coloring. 

Third, — Emphasis  may  be  used  to  supply  an  ellipsis,  and 
complete  to  the  ear  the  grammatical  construction,  or  to 
suggest  other  words,  the  meaning  of  which  is  implied  as 
belonging  to  the  sense  of  the  word  to  be  emphasized.  In 
this  case,  the  emphasis,  by  the  peculiar  significance  it  gives 
the  word,  colors  it  or  charges  it,  as  it  were,  with  the  sig- 
nificance of  those  the  mind  would  supply  in  paraphrasing 
to  develop  the  meaning.  Thus,  in  the  admiring  exclama- 
tion of  Hamlet : 

"  What  a  piece  of  work  is  a  man !  " 


Emphasis.  403 


The  word  what  should,  by  strong  or  proper  emphasis, 
express  the  additional  meaning  of  the  word  wonderful,  and 
the  sentence  paraphrased  would  read  thus : 

"What  a  wonderful  piece  of  work  is  a  man!" 
E  camples  of  ellipsis  : 

God  knows  when  we  shall  meet  again. 
God  only  knows  if  we  shall  ever  meet  again. 

Byr  proper  emphasis,  the  words  omitted  are,  by  strong 
sugrestion,  in  the  peculiar  mode  employed,  brought  before 
the  mind. 

Fourth. — Words  become  emphatic  when  they  are  used  to 
mark^  the  syntactical  relations  that  are  somewhat  obscured 
by  intervening  words  or  clauses.  In  the  following  lines 
from  Collins's  '^  Ode  to  the  Passions,'"  the  words  in  italics 
rec(  ive  emphasis  to  mark  their  grammatical  relationship  : 

"  When  cheerfulness,  a  nymph  of  healthiest  hue, 
Her  bow  across  her  shoulder  flung, 
Her  buskins  gemmed  with  morning  dew, 
Blew  an  inspiring  air, — that  dale  and  thicket  rung, 
The  hunter's  call,   to  Faun  and  Dryad  known." 

Here  the  phrases  inspiring  air,  and  hunter's  call,  are  in 
ap}  osition ;  but  there  is  an  intervening  clause,  the  verb  of 
wh  ch  might  seem  to  take  call  as  its  object.  To  avoid  a 
reaiing  that  would  put  this  construction  upon  the  lan- 
gu:ge,  hunter'' s  call  and  the  phrase  with  which  it  is  so 
clo  iely  related  must  both  be  emphasized.  In  this  case, 
the  second  phrase  seems  to  refer  the  ear  back  to  the 
for  ner,  and  thus  to  preserve  the  connection. 


404  Murdochs  Elocution, 

In  the  following  lines  of  Byron,  we  find  the  same  neces- 
sity for  an  emphatic  connection : 

"And  Jura  answers,  through  her  misty  shroud, 
Back  to  the  joyous  Alps,  that  call  to  her  aloud." 

These  words  or  phrases  occur  between  words  forming 
what  is  termed  the  emphatic  tie.  Rush  speaks  of  them  as 
"the  flight  of  the  voice."  They  are  rendered  parenthetic 
by  being  given  in  more  rapid  movement,  lower  pitch,  and 
monotone : 

"There  was  a  Brutus  once  that  would  have  brooked 
(The  eternal  devil  to  keep  his  state  in  Rome) 
As  easily  \  as  a  king." 

In  the  parenthesis  we  have  the  flight ;  brooked  as  easily  is 
the  emphatic  tie. 

Fifth. — When  several  words  in  succession  require  em- 
phasis, they  form  what  is  called  an  emphatic  phrase. 
These,  when  repeated,  are  called  cu?nulative  emphasis.  We 
have  "examples  of  the  emphatic  phrase  in  the  hnes  already 
quoted  to  illustrate  the  appealing  question : 

"Judge  me,  ye  Gods!      Wrong  I  mine  enemies? 
And  if  not  so,  how  could  I  wrong  my  bi'other  ? '''' 

"What  man  could  do 
Is  done  already,  Heaven  and  earth  will  witness, 
If  Rome  must  fall,   that  we  are  innocent." 

"There  was  a  time,  then,  my  fellow  citizens,  when  the  Lacedae- 
monians were  sovereign  masters  both  by  sea  and  land,  when  their 
troops  and  forts  surrounded  the  entire  circuit  of  Attica,  while  this 
state  had  not  one  ship,  not  one  wall.'''' 

262.  To  sum  up  the  preceding  view  of  the  several  cir- 
cumstances or  conditions  demanding  emphasis,  we  have  the 
following : 


Emphasis.  405 


1.  The  Emphasis  of  Antithesis,  which  enforces  the 
thoujjhts  or  passions  of  words  through  contrast. 

2.  Absolute  Emphasis,  or  the  enforcement  of  thought  or 
passion  on  one  word  or  a  succession  of  words,  from  their 
own  pecuhar  expressive  character,  independent  of  any  con- 
trast with,  or  opposition  to,   other  words. 

3.  Emphasis  of  Ellipsis,  which  enforces  a  word  for  the 
purpDse  of  supplying  the  meaning  of  others  omitted  in  the 
cons  ruction. 

4.  The  Emphatic  Tie,  which  distinguishes  certain  words 
for  tie  purpose  of  connecting  them  upon  the  ear,  to  point 
out  their  grammatical  relations  where  the  syntax  is  obscure. 

T(  >  these  may  be  added  : 

Tlie  Emphatic  Phrase,  which  enforces  the  thought  or 
pass  on  of  several  words  in  close  succession  in  a  phrase  or 
clause. 

2^3.  Emphasis  should  not  be  too  frequent,  nor  too  pre- 
cise in  detail, — in  striving  to  particularize  too  much,  the 
gentral  effect  of  significance  is  weakened.  A  proper  ob- 
serv  ition  of  the  necessity  of  superior  and  inferior,  as  regards 
the  )bject  in  the  presentation  of  thought  or  passion  by  the 
agei  cy  of  words,  will  lead  us  to  select  the  important  from 
the  unimportant,  and  thus  help  the  ear  and  the  mind  to 
perceive  the  real  meaning  of  the  language.  In  order  to 
arri  -e  at  a  just  employment  of  emphasis,  we  must,  then, 
con;  ider  the  relative  value  of  all  words  composing  language 
coiT  prehended  under  the  following  threefold  division : 

1  Unaccented. 

2  Accented. 

3  Emphatic. 

I  I  almost  every  sentence  there  are  certain  words  which 
rec(  ive  no  more  vocal  acknowledgment  than  the  unac- 
cen  ;ed  syllables  of  polysyllabic  words,  unless  they  have 
son  e  unusual  or  peculiar  significance,  and,  when  uttered  in 
coniexion  with  a  word  bearing  an  accent,  can  not  be  dis- 


4o6  Murdoch! s  Elocution, 

tinguished  by  the  ear  from  the  unaccented  syllables  of  that 
word. 

To  this  class  of  words  belong  all  conjunctions:  as,  and^ 
but^  or,  if,  etc.;  the  articles  the,  an,  a;  all  prepositions,  as 
for,  from,  with,  in;  the  verb  to  be,  throughout  its  modifi- 
cations; and  the  pronominal  adjectives  my,  his,  her,  our, 
some,  etc.;  also,  personal  and  relative  pronouns,  such  as 
/,  thou,  which,  who,  that,  etc.,*  when  employed  for  words 
understood  between  the  speaker  and  hearer.  In  fine,  all 
such  words  as  merely  connect  sentences,  denote  ordinary 
relations,  express  simple  existence,  and  qualify  other  words, 
without  adding  a  new  idea.  These  words  have  been  called 
enclitics, — ''hooked  on"  to  others.  To  illustrate,  take  the 
following  sentence  as  a  plain  statement  of  fact: 

"Censure  is  the  tax  a  man  pays  to  the  public  for  being  eminent." 

And,  if  correctly  pronounced,  it  will  sound  as  if  it  con- 
tained five  polysyllabic  words,  as  follows : 

"Cen^sure  is — the — tax'',  a — man — pays'',  to — the — pub'^ic,  for — 
being— em^inent. " 

Although  no  words  in  this  sentence  are  emphatic,  still 
those  marked  with  the  accent,  tax,  pays,  etc.,  receive  a 
certain  distinction  from  the  other  words  sinking  into  the 
same  obscurity  as  the  unaccented  syllables.  If  these  link 
words,  however,  were  given  an  equal  degree  of  vocal  value 
with  the  accented  words,  we  should  find  that  the  sentence 
would  lack  that  light  and  shade  which  is  necessary  to 
convey  a  clear  picture  of  the  thought. 

Besides  words  which  are  emphatic  from  some  peculiarity 
of  meaning,  there  are,  then,  always  many  superior,  through 
accent  alone,  to  the  particles  and  similarly  obscure  words. 
In  the  plainest  utterance  of  thought,  therefore,  there  are 
differences  in  the  values  of  words,  which  subordinate  some 


Emphasis.  407 


and  elevate  others  into  a  certain  prominence  in  con- 
tras;. 

254.  The  student  must  not,  then,  in  his  study  of  empha- 
sis, confound  the  distinction  between  words  which  take 
vocil  prominence  from  a  peculiarity  of  meaning,  and  those 
which  have  distinction  from  only  a  general  or  ordinary 
meaning,  or  more  meaning  than  the  particles,  connections, 
etc.,  for  it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  there  is  a  certain 
force  of  meaning  inherent  in  the  simple  verbal  forms  of  the 
substantives,  verbs,  and  other  important  parts  of  speech, 
suficient  to  declare,  when  related  in  sentences,  the  ordi- 
nal y  sense  of  language,  without  recourse  to  peculiar  sig- 
nifcance  in  sound. 

'The  first  degree  of  distinction,  then,  between  words  in 
sei  tences,  arises  from  the  importance  of  the  nouns,  verbs, 
etc.,  over  particles  and  unimportant  words.  This  distinc- 
tioi  naturally  takes  place  on  a  large  proportion  of  words 
in  every  ordinary  sentence. 

[t  will  also  be  found  that  in  all  cases  the  accented  words 
attract  to  them  the  unaccented  words,  either  preceding  or 
following,  most  intimately  related  in  sense,  thus  forming 
wl  at  to  the  ear  appears  like  one  long  word.  Groups  of 
wcrds  thus  related  have  been  termed  oratorical  portions  of 
a  sentence,  or  "oratorical  words."     Thus: 

•'  He    ofF-'ers — me   some — advice''   which — he — believes''    to— ^be — 

gODd''." 

I  —  have — seen^ — him  and — I — think^ — he — corresponds^  with — 
th  J — descrip''tion. 

Let — us — proceed''  by — recollec''tion. 

265.  Before  passing  to  that  distinction  of  words  called 
p  operly  emphatic,  I  wish  to  direct  the  attention  to  the  fact 
tl  at,  in  the  utterance  of  all  language,  words  which  repre- 


4o8  Murdoch s  Elocution. 

sent  ideas  or  things  with  which  the  hearer  is  supposed  to 
be  acquainted  are  not  naturally  the  object  of  communica- 
tion, and  are,  therefore,  always  expressed  by  such  a  sub- 
ordination of  effect  as  is  suitable  to  mark  them,  rather  as 
an  allusion  to  an  idea  understood,  than  as  the  presentation 
of  a  new  idea. 

On  the  other  hand,  those  things  of  which  our  hearers  are 
not  fully  informed,  or  which  they  might  possibly  miscon- 
ceive, are  brought  into  such  prominence  as  makes  it  im- 
possible for  the  hearer  to  overlook  or  mistake  them.  If, 
then,  any  part  of  speech  in  a  sentence  is  understood  be- 
tween the  hearer  and  speaker,  or  in  apposition  with  some- 
thing preceding  or  understood,  it  loses  its  ordinary  value 
and  falls  into  comparative  obscurity  or  insignificance.  This, 
of  course,  does  not  hold  when  a  word  is  repeated  to  en- 
force the  idea,   as  in  the  sentence : 

"Verily,  verily^   I  say  unto  you." 

With  this  understanding,  we  will  next  consider  emphatic 
words.     Taking  the  sentence  : 

"Exercise  and  temperance  strengthen  the  constitution," 

We  would  have  four  *' oratorical  words,"  accentual  only, 
thus: 

*' Ex^ercise  and — tem''perance  strength^'en  the — constitution." 

But  if  the  sentence  be  as  follows : 

**  Exercise  and  temperance  strengthen  even  an  indifferent  consti- 
tution," 

The  word  indifferent^  from  its  peculiar  meaning,  becomes 
emphatic,  and  is  raised  above  the  level  of  the  merely  ac- 
centual words  of  the  sentence,     Now,   as  accented  words 


Emphasis.  409 


possess  the  power  to  attract  the  connections,  etc.,  that  are 
most  closely  related  to  them,  so  emphatic  words  possess  the 
sams  attractive  power  for  accented  words  that  are  inti- 
mately connected  with  them,  and  are  similarly  subordi- 
nate. 

Thus  it  is,  in  the  preceding  sentence,  with  the  word  con- 
stitution, which,  while  it  does  not  becontfe  so  obscure  as  the 
una:cented  words  and  syllables,  is  much  less  prominent 
than  the  other  accented  words  of  the  sentence,  and  bears 
the  relation  of  a  sort  of  secondary  accent  to  the  emphatic 
oratorical  word.  This  point  is  farther  illustrated  by  the 
following  sentence: 

Avaro — covets — wealth     and — not — learning. 

The  point  of  the  statement  is  the  preference  of  Avaro-^ 
not  that  he  covets — that  being  implied  by  the  preference  ex- 
preised — but  that  he  covets — wealth.  The  verb  covets^ 
the  efore,  from  its  subordinate  significance  in  the  sentence, 
takis  the  rank  of  the  secondary  accent  in  the  oratorical 
wo]d,  similarly  to  the  noun  constitution  in  the  preceding 
sen  :ence.     Thus,  the  sentence  given  would  read  as  follows : 

'  Ex^ercise  and — tem^perance  strength^en  even — zxi— indifferent — 
con  ititution." 

'  'his  sentence  exhibits  the  threefold  distinction  as  to  the 
relitive  value  of  words.  A  word  either  preceding  or  fol- 
lov  ing  an  emphatic  word  is  apt  to  be,  through  the  very 
im  )ort  of  the  emphasis,  in  a  measure  understood,  and  is,, 
therefore,   thrown  into  comparative  obscurity. 

166.  In  very  strong  emphasis,  there  may  be  a  secondary 
errphasis  in  the  oratorical  word,  which  has  a  positive  em- 
ph  %tic  value  of  its  own,  and  which  yet  is  so  closely  related 
an  1  subordinated  to  the  stronger  as  to  be  attracted  to  it, 
into  one  group.     In  this  case,  however,  the  relative  values 

M.  E.— 35. 


4io  Murdoch's  Elocution. 

remain  in  about   the  same  proportion  as  before.     This  is 
exemplified  in  the  following  passionative  lines: 

♦'If — thou — dost — SLANDER — ^r  and  torture — me^  never — pray 
more." 

Again,  words  th|t  do  not  represent  an  idea  supplied  by 
the  emphasis,  retain,  in  connection  with  the  emphatic 
word,  their  full  accentual  value,  as  in  the  instance  of  the 
noun  rage  in  the  following  lines  from  Pope's  Prologue  to 
"  CatOj''  arranged  here  according  to  the  explanations 
already  given : 

*' Brit^ons,  attend''!     Be — worth^  like — this  approved'', 
And— show''  you — have — the — vir''tue  to^be — moved''. 
With — honest  scorn  the— ^rst — famed — Cato — viewed 
Rome  learn''ing— arts''  from — Greece'',  whom — she — subdued^; 
Our'' — scene  preca''riously  subsists''  too^  long'' 
On — French  translation,  and — Italian  song''. 
Dare''  to — have — sense — yourselves  assert''  the — stage; 
Be — ^justly  warm'd''  with — your — own''  native — rage ; 
Such'' — plays  alone''  should — please''  a — British — ear, 
As — Cato's  self  had — not  disdained^  to — hear''." 

The  words  marked  with  the  accent  are  of  about  equal 
relative  value, — accentual.  Honest  scorn  is  expressive,  ex- 
pressing an  implied  antithesis  (viewed  not  only  with  dislike, 
but  scorn).  The  word  first  is  also  emphatic,  pointing  out 
Cato,  the  Censor,  in  opposition  to  Cato,  the  hero  of  the 
Prologue.  Yourselves  is  strongly  emphatic,  as  opposed  to 
otJiers  understood.  The  word  native  is  highly  emphatic,  as 
opposed  to  foreign  understood.  But  rage  is  too  significant 
a  word  to  be  lightly  pronounced,  and  takes  color  from 
native.  Walker  says,  ''If  we  pronounce  the  accented  sylla- 
ble stronger,  the  unaccented  will  be  strong  likewise;"  e.  g., 
^^  Forward,  the  Light  Brigade."  Here  ward  borrows  force 
from  For,  and  it  becomes  an  oratorical  word. 


Emphasis.  4 1 


26  7.  The  relation  of  the  emphatic  words  to  others  of 
lesser  value  is  further  illustrated  by  the  following  extract 
from  a  speech  of  Lord  Mansfield's,  arranged  in  the  same 
manaer  as  the  preceding: 

"I — am — sure'',  were — the — noble — Lords''  as — well — acquainted 
as — / — am  with — but — half—\\i^ — difficulty  and — delays — occasioned 
in — the — courts^  of  jus''tice  under — the — pretence^  of  priv^ilege, 
they  —would — not,  nay'',  they — could — not  oppose  this  bill.'''' 

Here,  it  will  be  seen,  the  emphatic  word  wdl  naturally 
attracts  the  word  acquaitited,  the  latter  being  in  a  sense 
understood;  while  half  attracts  difficulty  in  the  same  way, 
in  addition  to  the  several  intimately  related  monosyllables, 
maV  ing  an  oratorical  word  of  eight  syllables.  Delays  is  em- 
pha;ic,  meaning  not  only  difficulties  (understood)  but  also 
delays.  The  italics  indicate  emphasis,  while  the  simple 
accent  shows  that  the  remaining  oratorical  words  are 
sim  Dly  the  accentual  groups  of  the  plain  current  of  speech. 
Tht  last  three  words  are  instances  of  what  are  called  simple 
ora  orical  words;  i.  e.,  having  no  enclitics.  This  arises 
her  J  from  the  balance  of  value  being  about  equal  between 
the  words,  each  having  an  individual  importance  not  to  be 
yie^ded  to  either  of  the  others.  The  preceding  examples 
wil  show  how  comparatively  few  words  in  the  current  of 
ordinary  discourse  become  positively  emphatic. 

268.  In  the  language  of  strong  passion,  the  frequency 
of  emphasis  is  of  course  increased  proportionally  to  the 
increased  excitement  in  the  state  of  mind,  which  naturally 
enl  Drees  a  greater  number  of  words.  Thus,  in  the  follow- 
ing instances  of  highly  impassioned  language,  the  emphasis 
fals  frequently,  as: 

'Back    to  —  thy  —  punishment,    false  —  fugitive,    and — to — thy — 
spe  ;d  add — wings. ^^ 

•'  Whence  and — 7jvhat  art — thou  execrable — shape." 


412  Murdoch's  Elocution. 

«« If — thou — dost — slander  her,  and — torture — me, 
Never  pray  more :   abandon — all — remorse ; 
On — horror's — head  horrors  accumulate-. 
Do — deeds — to — make — heaven — weep^  all — earth — amaz'dy 
For — nothing— c^.vis,i — thou  to — damnation — add, 
Cr^a/^r— than— that. ' ' 

269.  Such  a  treatment  of  language  as  is  here  described, 
not  only  facilitates  the  vocal  presentation  of  its  meaning, 
by  preserving  those  correct  proportions  as  to  greater  and 
less  in  the  value  of  words,  by  which  the  thought  or  passion 
is  made  to  stand  out  clearly  to  the  mind,  but  also,  by 
affording  constant  opportunities  for  pauses  between  the  ora- 
torical words,  it  places  them  more  strikingly  upon  the  ear, 
adding  at  the  same  time  to  the  ease  of  delivery  by  allowing 
for  constant  recovery  of  the  breath. 

Every  strongly  emphatic  oratorical  word,  in  fact,  de- 
mands a  pause  as  an  organic  necessity,  arising  from  the 
necessary  expenditure  of  breath  on  a  collection  of  sounds, 
one  of  which,  at  least,  is  forcible.  For  this  reason,  in- 
deed, emphasis  may  be  considered  the  key  to  pausing  in  sen- 
tences.    See  ^  200. 

Unless  language  is  very  rapid,  and  in  many  of  the  words 
slurred,  as  in  conversation,  the  accentual  portions  of  a 
sentence  generally  demand  a  brief  pause,  also,  as  in  the 
following  emphasis: 

"  Avaro, 
I  who — is— a— miser,  |  vi^ishes — for — wealth 
I  and — large — possessions." 

Sometimes,  however,  in  more  familiar  utterance,  two 
oratorical  portions  will  be  thrown  together  between  a  pause 
with  much  the  effect  of  two  accents.     To  illustrate: 

•«  I — will— cer^tainly— wait^ — on— you  ||  at — an— early— opportunity." 


Emphasis.  4 1 3 


2  70.  Emphasis  proper  is  to  be  regarded  as  the  extraordi- 
nary enforcement  of  the  thought  or  passion  of  words  by 
the  more  marked  degrees  of  stress,  wider  intervals,  extended 
waves,  and  pecuHar  qualities  of  voice,  for  the  purpose  of 
exp-essing  strong  contradistinction  or  impressive  degrees  of 
emction,   etc. 

Accentual  Emphasis,  on  the  other  hand,  will  be  the  term 
applied  to  that  moderate  distinction  of  syllables  effected 
by  the  extension  of  the  temporal  accent  on  the  wave  of 
the  second,  accompanied  with  that  form  of  median  stress 
called  the  temporal  pressure,  or  by  the  final  pressure  on 
the  interval  or  wave  of  a  second,  or  by  a  clear,  but  not 
forcible,  radical  stress; — all  of  which  give  words  a  dis- 
tinctive character,  without  suggesting  an  antithesis  or  indi- 
cating any  peculiar  or  significant  meaning. 

itlthough  the  simple  accentuation  of  words,  as  they 
stand  disconnected  from  other  words  as  the  verbal  signs  of 
isolated  ideas,  is  effected  only  by  the  radical  stress,  the 
loui  concrete,  and  the  slight  temporal  extension  on  the 
wa  'e  of  the  second,  still  the  accentuation  of  words  in  con- 
nected discourse  may,  by  means  of  final  stress,  in  connec- 
tio]i  with  the  simple  second  or  its  waves,  fulfill  the 
deiiands  of  expressive  vocal  coloring  without  passing 
be}ond  accentual  limits,  or  the  limits  of  moderation  and 
dignity  of  the  diatonic  melody. 

A  good  example  of  the  merely  accentual  emphasis  is 
exliibited  on  the  line  from  Byron  used  to  illustrate  variety 
in  stress.  See  ^225.  The  analysis  of  the  constituents  of 
thii  emphasis  is  there  explained. 

**  Roll  on,   thou — deep  and — dark  blue  ocean,  roliy 

$7 1.  Expressed  antithesis  often  requires  no  more  than 
ac<  entual  distinction,  as  in  the  following : 

Prospei/ity — gains — friends,  but — adver^sity  tries  them." 


414  Murdoch's  Elocution. 

Here,  friends  and  them  both  belong  to  the  class  of  words 
understood,  and  fall  into  a  subordinate  position;  gains  and 
tries  form  with  them  simply  an  accentual  word,  with  the 
temporal  distinction  on  the  first  syllable. 

272.  Marking  every  important  word  in  a  sentence  as 
strongly  emphatical,  and  bringing  the  unaccented  words 
into  undue  prominence,  is  the  cause  of  that  unnatural 
mouthing  of  language  so  offensive  to  good  taste,  which, 
while  it  gives  a  bombastic  and  turgid  character  to  common 
words,  lessens  the  attention  to  those  which  really  deserve 
extraordinary  distinction. 

Morever,  the  effort  to  be  too  significant  or  impressive, 
not  only  wearies  the  ear,  but  often  misleads  the  under- 
standing by  suggesting  contrasts  not  intended,  and  ideas 
not  to  be  implied,  for,  where  emphasis  does  not  aid  in  develop- 
ing the  meanings  it  generally  vitiates  or  distorts  it. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  connectives  and  other  obscure 
words,  where  correctly  pronounced,  serve  as  the  neutral 
background,  as  it  were,  to  accentual  distinctions,  while 
both  these  and  the  accentual  words  form  the  less  vivid  color 
against  which  the  striking  effects  of  emphasis  are  brought 
into  strong  relief. 


Examples  of  Emphasis  Classified  according  to  their 
Predominant  Elements  of  Effect. 

bold,  imperative  shouting. 


*  To  arms !  to  arms !  to  arms !' 
they  cry." 

Awake  !  awake ! 
Ring  the  alarm  bell : — Murder 
and  treason !  " 


Quality,  full  orotund. 
Force, — impassioned,   very  loud. 
Pitch,— high. 
Movement, — quick. 
Stress, — thorough. 
Intervals, — wide     and      unequal 
waves. 


Emphasis. 


415 


REVENGE. 


Hid   all    his  hairs  been    lives, 

my  great  revenge 
H  xd  stomach  for  them  all." 


0 1    that    the    slave    had    forty 

thousand  lives ! 
O  le  is  too  poor,  too  weak  for 

my  revenge !  " 


Quality, — intensely  aspirated  oro- 
tund. 

Force, — fiercely  impassioned. 

Pitch, — low. 

Movement, — slow. 

Stress, — vanishing. 

Intervals, — downward  fifths  and 
octaves. 


SORROW. 


'  T  tiy   sad,   sweet  hymn  at  eve, 

the  seas  along, — 
Oh  !  the  deep  soul  it  breathed  ! 

the  love,  the  woe, 
The  fervor,  poured  in  that  full 

gush  of  song  !  " 


Quality, — pure  orotund. 
Force, — subdued.  • 
Pitch, — low. 
Movement, — slow. 
Stress, — median. 

Intervals, — semi  tonic,    with 
waves. 


ECSTATIC   JOY. 


Shout,  shout  around  me! 

1  et  me  hear  thy  shout, 

1  hou  happy  shepherd  boy  !  " 


Quality, — pure  orotund. 
Force, — impassioned,  shouting. 
Pitch, — high. 
Movement, — lively. 
Stress, — loud  concrete. 
Intervals, — wide     waves     and 
l  tremor. 


SIMPLE    NARRATIVE. 


^ord   Ronald   brought    a    lily 

white  doe 
'o  give  his  cousin,  Lady  Clare." 


Quality, — natural. 

Force, — light.   - 

Pitch, — middle. 

Movement, — moderate. 

Stress, — unimpassioned  radical. 

Diatonic  melody. 


4i6 


Murdoch! s  Elocution. 


WRATH,    OR    FIERCE    ANGER. 


Back  !  to  thy  punishment,  false 
fugitive !  " 

Out,  dunghill !  dar'st  thou  brave 
a  nobleman  ?  " 


Quality, — harsh  aspirated  oro- 
tund. 

Force, — impassioned,  very  loud. 

Pitch, — low,  as  in  deep  and  in- 
tense emotion. 

Movement, — quick,  as  in  intense 
anger. 

Stress, — r  a  d  i  c  a  1  impassioned, 
fiercest  form. 

Intervals, — bold,  downward. 


AWE. 


'  My  heart  is  awed  within  me, 
when  I  think 

Of  the  great  miracle  that  still 
goes  on 

In  silence  round  me : — the  per- 
petual work 

Of  thy  creation,  finished  yet 
renewed  forever !  " 


Quality, — orotund,    lightly    aspi- 
rated. 

Force, — subdued,  by  deep  emo- 
tion. 
i    Pitch, — very  low,  as  in  profound 
yet  tranquil  emotion. 

Stress, — median. 

Intervals, — prevalent  downward, 
and  waves  of  a  second. 
^  Movement, — very  slow. 


Every  selection  should  be  carefully  analyzed,  as  in  the 
preceding  studies,  with  reference  to  the  movements  of  the 
voice  to  be  employed.  For  exercises  in  emphasis,  refer 
to  passages  in  Force,  and  its  different  degrees, — Stress, 
Quality,  etc. 

273.  The  difficulty  does  not,  as  a  general  thing,  lie  so 
much  with  readers  or  speakers  in  the  placing  of  their 
emphasis,  as  in  the  unvaried  employment  of  some  partic- 
ular means  for  all  cases.  Many  persons,  for  example, 
either  hammer   or   puncture  every  emphatic  word  with  a 


Emphasis,  417 


sharp  radical  stress,  thus  annihilating  both  beauty  and  pro- 
priety^ in  expression.  In  fact,  the  idea  so  generally  obtains 
that  emphasis  is  force ^  or  stress  alone,  that  the  claims  of 
quartity  as  the  other  great  essential  in  distinction  is  too 
oftei    ignored. 

Tlie  beauty  as  well  as  the  utility  of  emphasis  must  be 
considered  by  the  artistic  reader;  therefore,  variety  in  the 
forms  of  emphatic  distinction,  obtained  through  the  use, 
not  only  of  stress,  but  of  time,  quality,  and  intonation,  or 
of  their  several  combinations,  should  be  a  primary  consid- 
erat  on  in  seeking  to  obtain  agreeable  and  natural  effects; 
while  gradation  in  degree^  according  as  the  thought,  senti- 
mert,  or  passion  shall  call  for  the  greater  or  less  enforce- 
mert,  is  the  other  great  point  of  effect  to  be  held  in  view 
in  the  application  of  this  vivifying  principle. 

274.  As  a  further  illustration  that  the  words  not  under 
the  accent  bear  the  same  relation  to  the  sentence  with  the 
unaccented  syllables  of  single  words,  we  will  find  that  the 
sou  ids  of  their  elements  are  affected  in  the  same  manner. 
Thus,   in  the  following  example, 

le — offers  vac  some — advice  which — he — believes  to — be — good, 

e,   in  me,  is  as  unprotracted  a  sound  as  e  in  devout. 

^Many  words  suffer  a  similar  corruption  of  their  vowel 
SOI  nds  from  distinct  to  obscure,  as  in  the  case  of  the  un- 
ac(  ented  syllables  of  many  single  words  pointed  out  in  the 
prt  ceding  reference.  Of  this  class  are  of,  and,  the,  from, 
then,  can,  are,  shall,  etc.  Others  again  retain  the  distinct 
sounds  of  their  vowels,  although  uttered  with  the  rapid 
CO  icrete  of  similar  unaccented  syllables ;  of  such  are  by, 
my,  thy,  it,  you,  your,  he,  7ne,  she,   etc! 

[n  extremely  colloquial  utterance,  even  some  of  the 
di  tinct  sounds  here  named  become  obscure,  as  in  my,  you, 
ycur,  which  become  respectively  almost  like  the  sound  of 


4i8  Murdoch's  Elo action . 

y,  in  dainty,  ye  the  same  as  the  not  preceding  a  vowel, 
("an  indefinite  sound,"  says  Smart,  "not  to  be  specified 
on  paper,")  and  yer  in  lawyer. 

The  discretion  of  the  speaker  will  lead  him  to  proper 
variations  in  familiar  conversation.  In  enforcing  too  great 
nicety  or  precision  in  articulation,  the  unaccented  syllables 
of  words,  and  unaccented  monosyllables,  are  apt  to  be 
given  undue  distinctness,  and  thereby  raised  above  their 
proper  vocal  value  in  the  word  or  sentence,  thus  produc- 
ing pedantry  or  mouthing. 

The  following  stanza  sometimes  is  effective  in  drawing 
attention  to  the  prominence  often  given  the  unimportant 
words : 

"The  current  is  oft  evinced  by  straws, 

And  the  course  of  the  wind  by  the  flight  of  a  feather; 
So  a  speaker  is  known  by  his  ands  and  his  ors. 
These  stitches  that  fasten  his  patchwork  together." 

"The  sounds  of  all  the  vowels  of  unaccented  and  short  sylla- 
bles," says  Webster,  "are  so  nearly  alike  that  it  must  be  a  nice 
ear  which  distinguishes  the  difference  in  the  last  syllable  of  such 
words  as  altar,  alter,  murmur,  manor,  manner,  satyr,  etc.  In  words 
of  this  class,  if  the  accent  is  laid  on  the  proper  syllable,  and  the 
vowel  of  that  syllable  properly  pronounced,  the  pronunciation  of 
the  word  will  doubtless  be  correct." 

The  same  may  be  said  to  apply  to  the  oratorical  word, 
whether  formed  by  accent  or  emphasis.  In  the  attempt  to 
utter  with  distinctness  all  the  syllables  of  the  language,  the 
articulation  is  sometimes  allowed  to  interfere  with  the 
natural  pulsation  and  remiss  action  of  the  organs.  See 
^243.  This  is,  in  many  cases,  due  to  the  imperfect 
manner  in  which  *the  phonic  system  is  taught.  I-  call 
especial  attention  to  this,  not  to  depreciate  the  value  of 
articulative  distinctness,  but  to  warn  the  pupil  against 
sacrificing  the  natural  attributes  of  our  tongue,  existing  in 


Emphasis.  419 


accent  and  measure^  to  an  undue  enforcement  of  articulative 
preci  iion,  a  tendency  towards  which  exists  in  the  exagger- 
ated pronunciation,  now  much  in  vogue,  of  such  words  as 
cutor,  educator,  etc.,  which  gives  the  unaccented  and 
naturally  obscure  sound  of  the  final  syllable  almost  the 
same  vocal  prominence  as  the  syllable  rightfully  bearing  the 
accent.* 


*Ior  further  studies  in  emphasis  and  expression,  the  student  is 
referrad  to  '■'■Revision  of  Vocal  Cuiture,'"''  by  Rev.  F.  T.  Russell, 
also  10  "  Hill's  Essay  on  the  Dramatic  Passions,"  to  be  found  in 
the  author's  ^'-  Plea  for  Spoken  Language.'''' 


Chapter  XXXIV. 
Interjections  ajtd  Exclamatory  Sentences. 


n 


275.  Interjections  or  exclamations  may,  be  said  to  con- 
stitute an  epitome  of  all  expression,  as  they  compress  into 
a  single  word  or  phrase  all,  and  sometimes  more  than  all, 
of  the  meaning,  force,  and  impressiveness  that  could  be 
conveyed  by  the  merely  literal  character  of  an  entire  sen- 
tence. Indeed,  many  interjections  and  exclamations  may 
be  regarded  as  elliptical  sentences, — the  ellipsis  being  the 
effect  of  a  quick  and  forcible  expression  of  feeling  or 
passion  which  does  not  wait  for  literal  words,  but  vocally 
concentrates  the  meaning  and  force  of  the  words  omitted 
upon  the  brief  utterance.  They  are  the  nearest  approach 
in  speech  to  the  natural  inarticulate  language  of  man.* 

There  may  be  as  many  kinds  of  interjections  and  excla- 
mations as  there  are  modes  of  feeling  and  passion ;  thus, 
they  may  be  said  to  cover  the  entire  gamut  of  expression, 
every  mental  energy  and  passion  being  illustrated  by  their 
various  uses  in  composition.  They  may  be  found  in  all 
outbursts  of  Joy,  grief,  rage,  hatred,  love,  fear,  terror,  etc., 
as  O!  Alas!  Alack!  Mercy!  O  God!  Heavenly  powers ! 
Angels  and  ministers  of  grace  defend  us!  Help!  help! 
Ho!     Look!     Lo!     Behold!     Save  mt\ 

Nothing  will  better  serve  to  illustrate  the  aggregation  of 
the  several  elements  of  expression  in  producing  one  effect 


*See    Interjectional    Theory    of    Language,    author's    '' Plea  for 
Spoken  Language.''^ 
(420) 


Interjections  and  Exclamations.  421 

than  a  study  of  exclamations.  One  element,  it  is  true, 
may,  by  its  dominant  character,  usurp  the  attention  by  its 
proninence  to  the  ear,  producing  the  prevailing  effect  in 
appropriate  utterance. 

2;  6.  Thus,  force,  pitch,  time,  and  quality,  the  prime  char- 
acte-istics  of  all  effective  speech,  may  be  heard  in  one 
com  Dined  effort  of  impassioned  utterance,  as  in  the  imper- 
ative exclamation  of  irresistible  authority  and  fierce  pas- 
sion in  the  word  ""Begone!"  uttered  by  an  enraged 
superior  to  an  irritating  inferior.  In  this  single  word,  as  it 
burets  upon  the  ear,  we  have  a  combination  of  all  the 
effects  of  loud  or  extreme  force,  low  pitch,  wide  downward 
inteval,  prolonged  time,  thorough,  radical,  or  final  stress, 
and  orotund  quality.  All  of  these  functions  of  voice  are 
blei  ded  in  the  utterance  of  the  single  word,  or,  rather,  in 
its  accented  syllable;  and  the  effect  produced  upon  the  ear 
depends  on  the  combination  of  all  these  vocal  agents, 
mel  ;ed  and  welded  into  one  lava  mass  of  passion. 

1  he  voice,  impelled  by  the  moving  power  of  mind,  in- 
stigated by  one  burst  of  emotion,  sends  the  whole  mass  of 
conglomerated  elements  compressed  into  one  syllabic  utter- 
anc  i,  as  a  weapon  hurled  at  the  offender.  He  who  dis- 
chages  it,  acts  under  the  influence  of  an  instinct  which 
mal  es  him  deal  his  verbal  blow  in  the  spirit  which  Milton 
attr  butes  to  his  angel  champion  in  combat,  swaying  his 
sword  for  the  blow  "which  should  not  need  repeat." 

/  similar  instance  of  the  powerfully  emphatic  character 
of  ;.  single  exclamation  is  to  be  found  in  the  authoritative 
con  mand  of  Othello,  uttered  to  part  the  combatants  en- 
gag  3d  in  the  lawless  brawl : 

"Hold!   on  your  lives!" 

1  [ere  it  is  not  alone  the  mere  loudness  of  the  word 
Ho  d!  which  gives  it  commanding  power,  but  an  explosive 
opt  ning,  wide,  down-sweeping  intonation,  and  bold,  round, 


422  Murdoch's  Elocution. 

orotund  quality,  the  natural  voice  of  military  authority. 
The  emphasis  of  expression,  in  this  case,  is  nothing  less 
than  the  union  of  all  these  elements  of  utterance.  If  even 
a  single  one  of  them  be  omitted,  the  expressive  result  is 
defective  and  unnatural.  The  genuine  burst  of  strong 
emotion  instinctively  demands  the  union  of  all  its  audible 
effects  in  one  thunder  tone  of  utterance,  which  overpowers 
the  ear,  quells  the  heart,  and  compels  obedience. 

277.  As  exclamations  are  usually  forcible  expressions  of 
emotions,  they  are  best  expressed  by  the  downward 
intonation,  either  concrete  or  discrete,  or  in  waves  termi- 
nating downward,  still  some  of  the  lighter  and  more  ad- 
mirative  forms  of  exclamation  may  be  executed  on  the 
rising  intervals. 

The  wide  discrete  descent  would  take  place  on  such 
words  as  Shocking!  Bitter!  Wretched!  Hateful!  when 
uttered  as  impassioned  exclamations. 

The  moderate  temper  of  the  sentiment  expressed  in  the 
following  exclamation  might  take  the  form  of  a  downward 
interval,  or  direct  wave  of  the  second,  third,  or,  if  more 
plaintive,  of  the  semitone: 

«*0  withered  truth!" 

As  the  downward  intervals  are  the  appropriate  intonation 
of  strong  exclamatory  emotion  or  emphasis,  expressive  of 
surprise,  wonder,  fear,  distress,  deep  sorrow,  so  the  up- 
ward movements  are  often  used  to  express  the  tender, 
pathetic,  and  joyous  emotions,  as  in  the  following  expres- 
sion of  joyous  thanksgiving : 

**  •  Great  God!^  she  cried,   'he's  safe!  the  battle's  won!"* 
"  God  be  praised!  the  march  of  Havelock !  " 

The  shortest  exclamation,  like  the  shortest  interrogative 
sentences,  consists  of  a  monosyllabic  word,  and  this  may 


Interjections  and  Exclamations.  423 


be  almost  any  part  of  speech,  excepting,  perhaps,  the 
artide,  preposition,  or  conjunction.  This  serves  to  set  the 
power  of  vocal  expression  in  the  strongest  light,  for  it 
seeris  to  produce  almost  the  effect  of  speaking  without 
woris.  From  the  monosyllable,  the  exclamation  varies  in 
extent  through  all  degrees  of  ellipsis  to  the  full  syntax  of  a 
sentence,  though  few  sentences  are  not  abridged  by  the 
intensity  of  concentrated  passion. 

The  utterance  of  emotional  language  of  an  intense  char- 
acter is  one  of  the  most  effective  means  of  securing  that 
union  of  force  and  precision  of  articulation  which  all  im- 
passioned expression  requires.  The  combination  of  intense 
force  and  exact  articulation  serves  to  give  life  and  charac- 
ter to  sentiment  by  giving  keen  edge  to  language  as  the 
instrument  of  thought  and  feeling.  This  effect  we  find  to 
be  greatly  heightened  when  the  expression  of  emotion  is, 
as  t  were,  interpreted  by  the  very  sound  of  the  component 
elements  of  words  as  they  strike  upon  the  ear.  Hence, 
the  effect  of  the  explosive  utterance  and  aspirated  charac- 
ter of  such  interjections  as  Bah,  so  expressive  of  ridicule 
anc  contempt.  Pah!  of  disgust.  Pooh!  of  contempt. 
Hah!  of  startling  surprise.  Tut!  and  Pshaw!  of  impa- 
tiei  ice. 

:;78.  The  following  exercises  will,  therefore,  be  of  two- 
fol'l  value  to  the  student,  and  should  be  carefully  practiced 
with  every  form  of  expression  of  which  they  are  capable, 
and  which  their  various  verbal  forms  indicate  as  appro- 
priite.  For  example,  the  simple  exclamation  Ha!  may 
be  varied  through  every  form  of  expression  of  which  lan- 
gu  ige  is  capable.  Interrogation,  surprise,  acquiescence, 
lo\e,  hate,  aversion,  terror,   fear,  amazement,  etc. 

The  student's  knowledge  of  the  elements  of  expression, 
already  studied  in  detail,  must  guide  him  in  adapting  the 
sirgle  words,  and  those  of  the  exclamatory  sentences 
gi^  en,  to  their  appropriate  forms  of  utterance. 


4^4  Murdoch's  Elocution. 


Interjections. 

Interjections  are  monosyllabic  in  form,  and  spontaneous : 
they  burst  instantaneously  from  the  organs.  They  should 
be  practiced  on  the  concrete  intervals  of  all  degrees,  and 
on  the  waves,  as  in  Chapter  VII.  Then  in  different  de- 
grees of  force,  in  heavily  aspirated  or  orotund  quaHties, 
also  in  slow  and  rapid  movement:  Hold!  Ho!  Hail! 
Halt!     Hush!     Behold!     Lo!     See!     Hist!     Fire!     Look! 

In  contempt,  we  have:  Pshaw!  Pish!  Pugh!  Fie! 
Foh!     Faugh!     Tush!     Tut!     Fudge!     Bah! 

In  rejecting,  we  find :  Away!  Begone!  Avast!  Avaunt! 
Quit  my  sight!     Go!    Hence! 

The  simple  ejaculations  may  be  given  in  different  emo- 
tions:  O!  Oh!  Ah!  Ha!  Aha!  Alas!  Alack!  Oh,  ho! 
Mum!  Hey-day!  Heigh-ho!  Hoity,  toity!  Heavens!  Good 
Heavens!  Gracious  goodness!  Hem!  Silence!  Peace!  Cour- 
age! Woe!  Horrid!  Ahoy!  Shocking!  Humph!  Fare 
thee  well!    Farewell!     Tut!  tut! 


Exclamations. 

All  exclamatory  sentences  should  be  practiced  as  in 
1F1I64,  65,  in  elementary  form,  and  afterwards  as  studies 
in  the  different  emotions. 


infuriate  anger. 

••  False  wizard,  avaunt !  " 

**  Down,  soothless  insulter !  " 

Down,  down,  your  lances  down 
Bear  back  both  friend  and  foe." 


Interjections  and  Exclamations,  425 


"A  wicked  day,  and  not  a  holy  day." 

■  Avaunt !   and  quit  my  sight !     Let  the  earth  hide  thee 
Thy  bones  are  marrowless,  thy  blood  is  cold  !  " 

"Oh!   hell  kite!" 

•'Pluto  and  Hell!    all  hurt  behind!" 


RAGE. 

"Blow  wind,  and  crack  your  cheeks!  rage!  blow!" 

"  Fellow,  begone !  " 

"You  told  a  lie,  an  odious,  damned  lie; 
Upon  my  soul,  a  lie,  a  wicked  lie ! " 

AUTHORITY. 

"  A  horse  !   a  horse  !   my  kingdom  for  a  horse  ! " 

"  Lay  on,   Macduff; 
And  damned  be  him  that  first  cries,  *  Hold,  enough  ! '  " 

"Mend  and  charge  home!     Come  on!" 

"Hold,  hold!   for  your  lives!" 

"Hold,  hold!    the  general  speaks  to  you." 


DESPONDENCY. 

"  O  life  !   thou  art  a  galling  load. 
Along  a  rough,  a  weary  road. 
To  wretches  such  as  I  !  " 

"Work!     Work!     Work! 

My  labor  never  flags." 
M.  E.-36. 


426  Murdoch s  Elocution, 

CONTEMPT. 
"Tush!   tush!   fear  boys  with  bugs!" 

DISGUST. 

♦*And  smelt  so!   pah!'* 

HORROR. 

"Oh,  God!  it  is  a  fearful  thing 
To  see  the  human  soul  take  wing 
In  any  shape,  in  any  mood." 

"O,  horrible!     O,  horrible!   most  horrible!" 

"O  villain,' villain,  smiling,  damned  villain!" 

SURPRISE,    MINGLED   WITH    HORROR. 
"O  my  prophetic  soul!  my  uncle!" 

SELF-REPROACH. 

"O  fool!    fool!    fool!" 

"  O  grace  !     O  heaven  forgive  me  !  " 

"O  wretched  fool. 
That  liv'st  to  make  thine  honesty  a  vice ! 
O  monstrous  world  !  " 

"  Reputation,  reputation,  reputation !  O,  I  have  lost  my  repu- 
tation !  I  have  lost  the  immortal  part  of  myself,  and  what  remains 
is  bestial.     My  reputation,   lago,   my  reputation  !  " 


Interjections  and    Exclamations.  427 


GRIEF. 

Nurse. — O  lamentable  day  ! 
Lady  Capulei.—V^\iQ.Vs  the  matter? 

Nurse. — Look  !  look  !     O  heavy  day  ! 
Lady  Capulet. — O  me !     O  me !     My  child,   my  onjy  life, 

Revive,  look  up,  or  I  will  die  with  thee!" 

"O  Desdemona  !     Desdemona  !  dead! 
Oh  !     Oh  !     Oh  !  " 

"O,  woe  is  me! 
To  have  seen  what  I  have  ^een,  see  what  I  see !  " 

hw  exercise  of  broken  melody  occurs  in  the  choking 
utterance  of  Cordelia's  words,  repeated  by  the  gentleman 
in  describing  her  grief  to  Kent: 

Kent. — Made  she  no  verbal  question  ? 
GenUman. — 'Faith,  once,  or  twice,  she  heaved  the  name  oi  father 
Pantingly  forth,  as  if  it  pressed  her  heart; 
Cried,  Sisters!  sisters! — shame  of  ladies!  sisters! 
Kent!  father!  sisters!     What?  i'  the  storm?  z'  the  night? 
Let  pity  not  be  believed! — There  she  shook 
The  holy  water  from  her  heavenly  eyes, 
And  clamor  moistened ;  then  away  she  started 
To  deal  with  grief  alone." 


PITY    AND    COMMISERATION. 

'Oh!  the  cry  did  knock 
Against  my  very  heart!     Poor  souls!  they  perished." 

'•Alas!     Ah,  me!" 

**0h,  help  him,  you  sweet  heavens!" 

♦'  Alas,  he  's  mad  !  " 

Why,  how  now,  Adam  ! — no  greater  heart  in  thee  ?  " 


428  Murdoc/is  Elocution. 


AMAZEMENT. 

"O  wonderful,  wonderful,   and  most  wonderful  wonderful!  and 
yet  again  wonderful,   and  after  that  out  of  all  whooping." 

•'Behold,  how  great  a  matter  a  little  tire  kindleth!" 

"0,  what  men  dare  do!    what  men  may  do! 
What  men  daily  do,    not  knowing  what  they  do !  " 


GRATITUDE. 

"Thanks!  champion,  thanks." 

"Now  blessings  light  on  him  that  first  invented  sleep!  It 
covers  a  man  all  over,  thoughts  and  all,  like  a  cloak ;  it  is  meat 
for  the  hungry,  drink  for  the  thirsty,  heat  for  the  cold,  and  cold 
for  the  hot." 

"Now  all  the  blessings 
Of  a  glad  father  compass  thee  about !  " 


REGRET. 

"Alas!   how  light  a  cause  may  move 
Dissension  between  hearts  that  love !  " 

"  Ah !  why  will  kings  forget  that  they  are  men, 
And  men  that  they  are  brethren  ?  " 


DELIGHT. 

"  O  Life !   how  pleasant  in  thy  morning, 
Young  Fancy's  rays  the  hills  adorning  !  " 

••Come,  gentle  Spring!   ethereal  mildness!   come." 


Interjections  and  Exclamations.  429 


'•Ah,  happy  hills!   ah,  pleasing  shade!" 

"O  music!   sphere-descended  maid, 
Friend  of  pleasure,   wisdom's  aid  !  " 

"  How  sweet,  how  passing  sweet  is  solitude  !  " 

"  Those  evening  bells  !   those  evening  bells  ! 
How  many  a  tale  their  music  tells." 


ADMIRATION. 

"  Beautiful  as  sweet !  • 

And  young  as  beautiful !   and  soft  as  young ! 
And  gay  as  soft!   and  innocent  as  gay!  " 

"  Good,   tender,   cheerful,  happy,  wise. 
The  child's  heart,  with  the  strong  man's  thought !  " 

"  Oh  !   speak  again,   bright  angel !  " 


JOY. 

"  Ring,  joyous  chords !   ring  out  again  ! 
A  swifter  still  and  a  wilder  strain." 

"Joy!  joy  forever!    my  task  is  done!" 

*'Io!   they  come,  they  come!" 

"Up!   let  us  to  the  fields!" 

*'  O    my  soul's  joy  ! 
If  after  every  tempest  come  such  calms, 
May  the  winds  blow  till  they  have  waken'd  death  !  " 

"Toy!     Joy!      Columbia's    friends    are    trampling    through    the 
shad  : !  " 


43 o  Murdocli  s  Elocution, 

"  Happy  day  !  "     '*  Beautiful !  " 

"  And,  oh  !   if  there  be  an  Elysium  on  earth, 
It  is  this,  it  is  this  !  " 


COURAGE. 


"Liberty's  in  every  blow! 
Let  us  do  or  die." 

"  How  sleep  the  brave  who  sink  to  rest. 
By  all  their  country's  wishes  blessed  !  " 

"  Up  !   comrades  !   up  !   in  Rokeby's  halls 
Ne'er  be  it  said  our  courage  falls." 


REPROOF. 

«*  O  shame!   where  is  thy  blush?" 
"  Yet  here,  Laertes  !   aboard,  aboard,  for  shame 

HUMOROUS. 

"O  Miss  Baily, 
Unfortunate  Miss  Baily  !  " 

"  O  Sophonisba  !     Sophonisba,  O  !  " 

«'0  Amos  Cottle!     Phoebus!     What  a  name!" 

"  Up  !   up  !   my  friend,   and  quit  your  books, 
Or  surely  you'll  grow  double: 
Up!   up!   my  friend,   and  clear  your  looks; 
Why  all  this  toil  and  trouble  ?  " 


I 


Interjections  and  Exclamations.  431 


Benvolio. — Here  comes  Romeo,   here  comes  Romeo. 
Mercutio. — Without  his  roe,  like  a  dried  herring; 
O  flesh,  flesh,  how  art  thou  fishified !  " 

"Well!     Well!   here's  a  puddle  in  a  storm." 

'By  my  grandfather's  beard,   here's  matter  for  merriment." 

*'  By  the  Lord,   I  knew  ye,   as  well  as  he  that  made  ye." 

"  Flat  burglary  as  ever  was  committed." 

''  Why,  this  is  flat  perjury,   to  call  a  prince's  brother  villain." 

"  By  the  mass,  't  is  morning ; 
Pleasure  and  action  make  the  hours  seem  short." 

"  Here  's  a  tempest  in  a  tea-pot !   all  cry  and  no  wool !  " 

'  O  villain !  thou  wilt  be  condemned  into  everlasting  redemption 
for   ;his." 


SELECTIONS. 


MISCELLANEOUS   READINGS   IN   PROSE. 


Eulogy  on  Wendell  Phillips. 

When  he  first  spoke  at  Faneuil  Hall  some  of  the  most 
renowned  American  orators  were  still  in  their  prime. 
\^  ebster  and  Clay  were  in  the  Senate,  Choate  at  the  bar, 
Eiward  Everett  upon  the  Academic  platform.  From  all 
these  orators  Phillips  differed  more  than  they  differed  from 
ec  ch  other.  Behind  Webster,  and  Everett,  and  Clay,  there 
WIS  always  a  great  organized  party,  or  an  intrenched  con- 
servatism of  feeling  and  opinion.  They  spoke  accepted 
views.  They  moved  with  masses  of  men,  and  were  sure 
01  the  applause  of  party  spirit,  of  political  traditions,  and 
01  established  institutions.  Phillips  stood  alone.  He  was 
not  a  Whig  nor  a  Democrat,  or  the  graceful  panegyrist  of 
ail  undisputed  situation.  Both  parties  denounced  him. 
Ke  must  recruit  a  new  party.  PubHc  opinion  condemned 
h  m.  He  must  win  public  opinion  to  achieve  his  purpose. 
Tie  tone,  the  method  of  the  new  orator,  announced  a  new 
s]  irit.  It  was  not  a  heroic  story  of  the  last  century,  nor  the 
c(  ntention  of  contemporary  politics;  it  was  the  unsuspected 
h<  roism  of  a  mightier  controversy  that  breathed  and 
burned  in  his  words.     With  no  party  behind  him,  and  ap- 

M.  E.-37.  (433) 


434  Murdocli  s  Elocution, 

pealing  against  established  order  and  acknowledged  tradi- 
tion, his  speech  was  necessarily  a  popular  appeal  for  a 
strange  and  unwelcome  cause,  and  the  condition  of  its 
success  was  that  it  should  both  charm  and  rouse  the  hearer, 
while,  under  cover  of  the  fascination,  the  orator  unfolded 
his  argument  and  urged  his  plea.  This  condition  the 
genius  of  the  orator  instinctively  perceived,  and  it  deter- 
mined the  character  of  his  discourse. 

He  faced  his  audience  with  a  tranquil  mien,  and  a  beam- 
ing aspect  that  was  never  dimmed.  He  spoke,  and  in  the 
measured  cadence  of  his  quiet  voice  there  was  intense 
feeling,  but  no  declamation,  no  passionate  appeal,  no  su- 
perficial and  feigned  emotion.  It  was  simple  colloquy — a 
gentleman  conversing.  Unconsciously  and  surely  the  ear 
and  heart  were  charmed.  How  was  it  done  ?  Ah !  how 
did  Mozart  do  it — how  Raphael?  The  secret  of  the  rose's 
sweetness,  of  the  bird's  ecstacy,  of  the  sunset's  glory — 
that  is  the  secret  of  genius  and  of  eloquence.  What  was 
heard,  what  was  seen,  was  the  form  of  noble  manhood,  the 
courteous  and  self-possessed  tone,  the  flow  of  modulated 
speech,  sparkling  with  matchless  richness  .  of  illustration, 
with  apt  allusion,  and  happy  anecdote,  and  historic 
parallel,  with  wit  and  pitiless  invective,  with  melodious 
pathos,  with  stinging  satire,  with  crackling  epigram  and 
limpid  humor,  like  the  bright  ripples  that  play  around  the 
sure  and  steady  prow  of  the  resistless  ship.  Like  an  illu- 
minated vase  of  odors,  he  glowed  with  concentrated  and 
perfumed  fire.  The  divine  energy  of  his  conviction  ut- 
terly possessed  him,  and  his 

'*  Pure  and  eloquent  blood 
Spoke  in  his  cheek,   and  so  distinctly  wrought, 
That  one  might  almost  say  his  body  thought." 

Was  it  Pericles  swaying  the  Athenian  multitude?  Was 
it  Apollo  breathing  the  music  of  the  morning  from  his  lips  ? 


Miscellaneous  Readings  in  Prose,       435 

It  vas  an  American  patriot,  a  modern  son  of  liberty,  with 
a  sDul  as  firm  and  as  true  as  was  ever  consecrated  to  un- 
selfish duty,  pleading  with  the  American  conscience  for  the 
chained  and  speechless  victims  of  American  inhumanity. 

— George  Wm.  Curtis. 


The  Character  of  Our  Saviour. 

The  character  of  Jesus  is  perfectly  original.  It  is  unlike 
every  thing  which  had  ever  appeared  in  the  world.  There 
had,  indeed,  been  eminent  persons  who  had  assumed  the 
office  of  instructors  of  mankind  in  religion  and  virtue. 
But  Jesus  differed  widely  from  them  all  in  the  nature  of 
his  doctrine,  in  his  mode  of  instruction,  in  his  habits  of 
lift,  and  manner  of  conversation,  in  the  character  which 
he  assumed,  in  the  dignity  of  his  conduct,  in  the  authority 
of  his  language,  in  the  proofs  which  he  exhibited  of  a 
divine  commission,  and  in  the  manner  in  which  he  left 
thdse  proofs  to  make  their  proper  impression  upon  the 
mi  ad  without  himself  drawing  the  genuine  conclusions. 

He  claimed  to  be  the  Messiah,  the  distinguished  person- 
agi  foretold  by  the  prophets,  and  expected  by  the  Jews. 
Bi  t  the  form  was  totally  different  from  that  in  which  he 
Wc'  s  expected  to  appear,  from  that  which  an  impostor  would 
hav^e  worn,  which  all  impostors  did  actually  put  on,  and 
wl.ich  the  writer  of  a  fictitious  narrative  would  naturally 
hav^e  represented.  He  was  expected  to  appear  in  all  the 
sp  endor  of  a  prince  and  a  conqueror.  He  actually  ap- 
ptared  under  the  form  of  a  pauper  and  a  servant. 

The  character  which  he  thus  assumed,  so  entirely  new, 
so  utterly  unexpected,  and  in  many  respects  so  very  offen- 
si  e  to  his  countrymen,  he  sustained  with  the  most  becom- 
ing propriety.     The  circumstances  in  which  he  was  placed 


436  Murdoclis  Elocution. 

were  numerous,  various,  and  dissimilar  to  each  other;  some 
of  them  were  very  critical  and  difficult;  nevertheless, 
upon  all  occasions  he  maintains  the  character  of  a  prophet 
of  God,  of  a  teacher  of  truth  and  righteousness,  with  the 
most  perfect  consistency  and  dignity;  in  no  instance  does 
he  forget  his  situation;  upon  no  occasion,  in  no  emer- 
gency, however  sudden  or  unexpected,  under  no  provoca- 
tion, however  irritating,  is  he  surprised  or  betrayed  to  do 
any  thing  unworthy  of  himself,  or  unbecoming  the  sublime 
and  sacred  mission  with  which  he  was  charged. 

To  support  the  consistency  of  a  fictitious  character 
through  a  considerable  work,  even  though  the  character  is 
drawn  from  common  life,  is  a  mark  of  no  ordinary  capacity 
and  judgment.  But  to  adhere  from  beginning  to  end  to 
truth  of  delineation  in  a  character  perfectly  original,  in  cir- 
cumstances various  and  new,  and  especially  where  super- 
natural agency  is  introduced,  is  characteristic  of  genius  of 
the  highest  order.  Attempts  to  represent  a  perfect  charac- 
ter have  failed  in  the  hands  of  the  greatest  masters.  De- 
fects are  visible  in  the  portraits  of  the  philosopher  and  the 
hero,  notwithstanding  the  masterly  penciling  and  exquisite 
coloring  of  Plato  and  Xenophon.  But  the  obscure  and 
illiterate  evangelists  have  succeeded  to  perfection.  Not 
one  writer  only,  but  four.  Not  in  describing  different 
characters,  in  which  they  would  not  have  been  liable  to 
have  interfered  with  each  other,  but  in  the  representation 
of  the  same  unblemished  and  extraordinary  character,  to 
which  each  has  contributed  something  which  the  rest  have 
omitted,  and  yet  all  are  perfectly  consistent  and  har- 
monious.    The  unity  of  character  is  invariably  preserved. 

Admit  that  this  character  actually  existed;  allow  that 
there  was  such  a  person  as  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  and  that  the 
historians  describe  nothing  but  what  they  saw  and  heard, 
and  to  which  they  were  daily  witnesses,  and  the  wonder 
ceases;   all  is  natural  and  easy;   the  narrators  were  honest 


Miscellaneous  Readings  in  Prose.        437 

and  competent  witnesses,  and  Jesus  was  a  true  prophet  of 
the  Most  High.  Deny  these  facts,  and  the  history  of  the 
evangelists  instantly  swells  into  a  prodigy  of  genius, — a 
sublime  fiction  of  the  imagination,  which  surpasses  all  the 
most  celebrated  productions  of  human  wit.  The  ilHterate 
Gali  eans  eclipse  all  the  renowned  historians,  philosophers, 
and  poets  of  Greece  and  Rome.  But  who  will  affirm,  or 
who  could  believe  this,  of  these  simple,  artless,  unaffected 
writers?  It  is  incredible,  it  is  impossible,  that  these  plain 
and  unlettered  men  should  have  invented  so  extraordinary, 
so  highly  finished  a  romance.  Their  narrative,  therefore, 
mus:  be  true.  The  prophet  of  Nazareth  is  a  real  person, 
and  his  divine  legation  is  undeniable.  I  know  not  how 
this  argument  may  appear  to  others,  but  to  me  it  carries 
the  force  of  almost  mathematical  demonstration.  I  can  not 
conceive  a  proof  which  can  be  more  satisfactory  to  a 
candid,  an  intelligent,  and  well  informed  mind. 


The  Human  Voice. 


I  GRIEVE  to  say  it,  but  our  people,  I  think,  have  not 
gen  jrally  agreeable  voices.  The  marrowy  organisms,  with 
skii  s  that  shed  water  like  the  backs  of  ducks,  with  smooth 
surj  ices  neatly  padded  beneath,  and  velvet  linings  to  their 
sinking  pipes,  are  not  so  common  among  us  as  that  other 
pat  ern  of  humanity,  with  angular  outlines  and  plain  sur- 
faces, arid  integuments,  hair  like  the  fibrous  covering  of 
a  cDcoanut  in  gloss  and  suppleness  as  well  as  color,  and 
voi  :es  at  once  thin  and  strenuous, — acidulous  enough  to 
prcduce  effervescence  with  alkaHes,  and  stridulous  enough 
to  >ing  duets  with  the  katydids.  I  think  our  conversa- 
tional soprano,  as  sometimes  overheard  in  the  cars,  arising 
fro  n  a  group  of   young  persons,   who  may  have  taken  the 


438  Murdochs  Elocution. 

train  at  one  of  our  great  industrial  centres,  for  instance, — 
young  persons  of  the  female  sex,  we  will  say,  who  have 
bustled  in  full-dressed,  engaged  in  loud,  strident  speech, 
and  who,  after  free  discussion,  have  fixed  on  two  or  more 
double  seats,  which  having  secured,  they  proceed  to  eat 
apples  and  hand  round  daguerreotypes, — I  say,  I  think  the 
conversational  soprano,  heard  under  these  circumstances, 
would  not  be  among  the  allurements  the  old  enemy  would 
put  in  requisition,  were  he  getting  up  a  new  temptation  of 
St.   Anthony. 

There  are  sweet  voices  among  us,  we  all  know,  and 
voices  not  musical,  it  may  be,  to  those  who  hear  them  for 
the  first  time,  yet  sweeter  to  us  than  any  we  shall  hear 
until  we  listen  to  some  warbling  angel  in  the  overture  to 
that  eternity  of  blissful  harmonies  we  hope  to  enjoy.  But 
why  should  I  tell  lies?  If  my  friends  love  me,  it  is  be- 
cause I  try  to  tell  the  truth.     I  never  heard  but  two  voices 

in  my  life  that  frightened  me  by  their  sweetness 

They  made  me  feel  as  if  there  might  be  constituted  a 
creature  with  such  a  chord  in  her  voice  to  some  string  in 
another's  soul,  that,  if  she  but  spoke,  we  would  leave  all 
and  follow  her,  though  it  were  into  the  jaws  of  Erebus. 
Our  only  chance  to  keep  our  wits  is,  that  there  are  so  few 
natural  chords  between  others'  voices  and  this  string  in  our 
souls,  and  that  those  which  at  first  may  have  jarred  a  little, 
by-and-by  come  into  harmony  with  it.  But  I  tell  you  this 
is  no  fiction.  You  may  call  the  story  of  Ulysses  and  the 
Sirens  a  fable,  but  what  will  you  say  to  Mario  and  the  poor 
lady  who  followed  him  ? 

Whose  were  those  two  voices  that  bewitched  me  so? 
They  both  belonged  to  German  women.  One  was  a 
chambermaid,  not  otherwise  fascinating.  The  key  of  my 
room  at  a  certain  great  hotel  was  missing,  and  this  Teutonic 
^naiden  was  summoned  to  give  information  respecting  it. 
The  simple  soul  was  evidently  not  long  from  her  mother- 


Miscellaneous  Readings  in  Prose.        439 

laid,  and  spoke  with  sweet  uncertainty  of  dialect.  But 
to  hear  her  wonder  and  lament  and  suggest,  with  soft, 
liquid  inflexions,  and  low,  sad  murmurs,  in  tones  as  full  of 
seiious  tenderness  for  the  fate  of  the  lost  key  as  if  it  had 
been  a  child  that  had  strayed  from  its  mother,  was  so  win- 
ning, that,  had  her  features  and  figure  been  as  delicious  as 
her  accents, — if  she  had  looked  like  the  marble  Clytie,  for 
instance, — why,  all  I  can  say  is  ...  I  was  only  going  to 
say^  that  I  should  have  drowned  myself.  For  Lake  Erie 
w.is  close  by;  and  it  is  so  miich  better  to  accept  asphyxia, 
w  lich  takes  only  three  minutes  by  the  watch,  than  a  mes- 
al'iance,  that  lasts  fifty  years  to  begin  with,  and  then  passes 
abng  down  the  line  of  descent  (breaking  out  in  all  man- 
ner of  boorish  manifestations  of  feature  and  manner, 
wtiich,  if  men  were  only  as  short-lived  as  horses,  could  be 
rtadily  traced  back  through  the  square  roots  and  the  cube 
r(  ots  of  the  family  stem  on  which  you  have  hung  the 
aimorial  bearings  of  the  De  Champignons  or  the  De  la 
]\!orues,  until  one  came  to  beings  that  ate  with  knives  and 
s;.id  ''Haow?"),  that  no  person  of  right  feeling  could  have 
hasitated  for  a  single  moment. 

The  second  of   the  ravishing  voices  I  have  heard  was, 

a>  I  have  said,  that  of  another  German  woman — I  suppose 

I  shall  ruin  myself  by  saying  that  such  a  voice  could  not 

have  come  from  any  Americanized  human  being.    ...    It 

1  ad   so   much   woman   in   it, — muliebrity,    as    well    as  femi- 

leity; — no    self-assertion,    such   as    free    suffrage    introduces 

i  ito  every  word  and  movement ;    large,    vigorous    nature, 

running   back  ^to  those  huge-limbed  Germans  of  Tacitus, 

1  ut  subdued  by  the  reverential  training  and  tuned  by  the 

I  indly  culture  of  fifty  generations.     Sharp  business  habits, 

;    lean  soil,   independence,   enterprise,   and  east  winds  are 

lot  the  best  things  for  the  larynx.     Still,   you  hear  noble 

'oices    among    us,  —  I    have    known    families    famous    for 

hem, — but  ask  the  first  person  you  meet  a  question,  and 


440  Murdoch's  Elocution. 

ten  to  one  there  is  a.  hard,  sharp,  metalHc,  matter-of-busi- 
ness  clink  in  the  accents  of  the  answer,  that  produces  the 
effect  of  one  of  those  bells  which  small  trades-people  con- 
nect with  their  shop-doors,  and  which  spring  upon  your 
ear  with  such  vivacity,  as  you  enter,  that  your  first  impulse 
is  to  retire  at  once  from  the  precincts. 

— Oliver  Wendell  Holmes 


Love  of  Change. 


We  must  note  carefully  what  distinction  there  is  between 
a  healthy  and  a  diseased  love  of  change;  for  as  it  was  in 
healthy  love  of  change  that  the  Gothic  architecture  rose, 
it  was  partly  in  consequence  of  diseased  love  of  change 
that  it  was  destroyed.  In  order  to  understand  this  clearly, 
it  will  be  necessary  to  consider  the  different  ways  in  which 
change  and  monotony  are  presented  to  us  in  nature;  both 
having  their  use,  like  darkness  and  light,  and  the  one  in- 
capable of  being  enjoyed  without  the  other;  change  being 
most  delightful  after  some  prolongation  of  monotony,  as 
light  appears  most  brilliant  after  the  eyes  have  been  for 
some  time  closed. 

I  believe  that  the  true  relations  of  monotony  and  change 
may  be  most  simply  understood  by  observing  them  in 
music.  We  may  therein  notice,  first,  that  there  is  a  sub- 
limity and  majesty  in  monotony  which  there  is  not  in  rapid 
or  frequent  variation.  This  is  true  throughout  all  nature. 
The  greater  part  of  the  sublimity  of  the  sea  depends  on  its 
monotony ;  so  also  that  of  desolate  moor .  and  mountain 
scenery;  and  especially  the  sublimity  of  motion,  as  in  the 
quiet,  unchanged  fall  and  rise  of  an  engine  beam.  So  also 
there  is  sublimity  in  darkness  which  there  is  not  in  light. 

Again,  monotony,  after  a  certain  time,  or  beyond  a  cer- 
tain degree,  becomes  either  uninteresting  or  intolerable, 
and  the  musician  is  obliged  to  break  it  in  one  or  two  ways : 


Miscellaneous  Readings  in  Prose.        441 

either  while  the  air  or  passage  is  perpetually  repeated,  its 
notes  are  variously  enriched  and  harmonized;  or  else,  after 
a  certain  number  of  repeated  passages,  an  entirely  new 
passiige  is  introduced,  which  is  more  or  less  delightful 
acco'ding  to  the  length  of  the  previous  monotony.  Nature, 
of  course,  uses  both  these  kinds  of  variation  perpetually. 
The  sea-waves,  resembling  each  other  in  general  mass,  but 
none  like  its  brother  in  minor  divisions  and  curves,  are  a 
monotony  of  the  first  kind;  the  great  plain,  broken  by  an 
emergent  rock  or  clump  of  trees,  is  a  monotony  of  the 
seco  id. 

Farther:  in  order  to  the  enjoyment  of  the  change  in 
either  case,  a  certain  degree  of  patience  is  required  from 
the  hearer  or  observer.  In  the  first  case,  he  must  be  sat- 
isfied to  endure  with  patience  the  recurrence  of  the  great 
mas:  es  of  sound  or  form,  and  to  seek  for  entertainment  in 
a  careful  watchfulness  of  the  minor  details.  In  the  second 
case,  he  must  bear  patiently  the  infliction  of  the  monotony 
for  some  moments,  in  order  to  feel  the  full  refreshment  of 
the  change.  This  is  true  even  of  the  shortest  musical 
passige  in  which  the  element  of  monotony  is  employed. 
In  (ases  of  more  majestic  monotony,  the  patience  required 
is  s(  considerable  that  it  becomes  a  kind  of  pain, — a  price 
paic  for  the  future  pleasure.  Again:  the  talent  of  the 
composer  is  not  in  the  monotony,  but  in  the  changes:  he 
ma)  show  feeling  and  taste  by  his  use  of  monotony  in  cer- 
tain places  or  degrees;  that  is  to  say,  by  his  various  em- 
plo}ment  of  it;  but  it  is  always  in  the  new  arrangement  or 
invtntion  that  his  intellect  is  shown,  and  not  in  the  mo- 
not(  ny  which  relieves  it. 

I  astly :  if  the  pleasure  of  change  be  too  often  repeated 
it  c  jases  to  be  delightful,  for  then  change  itself  becomes 
moi  otonous,  and  we  are  driven  to  seek  delight  in  extreme 
and  fantastic  degrees  of  it.  This  is  the  diseased  love  of 
cha  ige  of  which  we  have  above  spoken, 


442  Murdocli  s  Elocution, 

From  these  facts  we  may  gather  generally  that  monotony 
is,  and  ought  to  be,  in  itself  painful  to  us,  just  as  darkness 
is;  that  an  architecture  which  is  altogether  monotonous  is 
a  dark  or  dead  architecture;  and,  of  those  who  love  it, 
it  may  be  truly  said,  ''they  love  darkness  rather  than 
light."  But  monotony  in  certain  measure,  used  in  order  to 
give  value  to  change,  and,  above  all,  that  transparent  mo- 
notony which,  like  the  shadows  of  a  great  painter,  suffers 
all  manner  of  dimly  suggested  form  to  be  seen  through  the 
body  of  it,  is  an  essential  in  architectural  as  in  all  other 
composition;  and  the  endurance  of  monotony  has  about 
the  same  place  in  a  healthy  mind  that  the  endurance  of 
darkness  has :  that  is  to  say,  as  a  strong  intellect  will  have 
pleasure  in  the  solemnities  of  storm  and  twilight,  and  in 
the  broken  and  mysterious  lights  that  gleam  among  them, 
rather  than  in  mere  brilliancy  and  glare,  while  a  frivolous 
mind  will  dread  the  shadow  and  the  storm ;  and  as  a  great 
man  will  be  ready  to  endure  much  darkness  of  fortune  in 
order  to  reach  greater  eminence  of  power  or  felicity,  while 
an  inferior  man  will  not  pay  the  price;  exactly  in  like 
manner  a  great  mind  will  accept,  or  even  delight  in,  mo- 
notony which  would  be  wearisome  to  an  inferior  intellect, 
because  it  has  more  patience  and  power  of  expectation, 
and  is  ready  to  pay  the  full  price  for  the  great  future 
pleasure  of  change.  But  in  all  cases  it  is  not  that  the 
noble  nature  loves  monotony  any  more  than  it  loves  dark- 
ness or  pain.  But  it  can  bear  with  it,  and  receives  a  high 
pleasure  in  the  endurance  or  patience,  a  pleasure  neces- 
sary to  the  well-being  of  this  world;  while  those  who  will 
not  submit  to  the  temporary  sameness,  but  rush  from  one 
change  to  another,  gradually  dull  the  edge  of  change  itself, 
and  bring  a  shadow  and  weariness  over  the  whole  world 
from  which  there  is  no  more  escape. 

^JOHN    RUSKIN. 


Miscellaneous  Readings  in  Prose.        443 


Selection  from  Speech  in  the  Knapp  Trial. 

[  Selected  from  the  argument  made  by  Daniel  Webster  in  the  trial 
of  John  F.  Knapp  for  the  murder  of  Joseph  White,  Esq.,  of  Salem, 
Essix  County,   Mass.,   April  6,   1830.] 

(Gentlemen,  it  is  a  most  extraordinary  case.  In  some 
respects  it  has  hardly  a  precedent  anywhere;  certainly 
no]ie  in  our  New  England  history. 

The  deed  was  executed  with  a  degree  of  self-possession 
and  steadiness  equal  to  the  wickedness  with  which  it  was 
planned.  The  circumstances  now  clearly  in  evidence 
spread  out  the  whole  scene  before  us.  Deep  sleep  had 
falen  on  the  destined  victim,  and  on  all  beneath  his  roof. 
A  healthful  old  man,  to  whom  sleep  was  sweet,  the  first 
sound  slumbers  of  the  night  held  him  in  their  soft  though 
strmg  embrace.  The  assassin  enters  through  the  window, 
already  prepared,  into  an  unoccupied  apartment.  With 
no  seless  foot  he  passes  the  lonely  hall,  half  lighted  by  the 
mcon;  he  winds  up  the  ascent  of  the  stairs,  and  reaches 
tho  door  of  the  chamber.  Of  this  he  moves  the  lock  by 
soi't  and  continued  pressure,  till  it  turns  on  its  hinges  with- 
ou:  noise,  and  he  enters  and  beholds  his  victim  before  him. 
Tl  e  room  was  uncommonly  open  to  the  admission  of  light. 
Tl  e  face  of  the  innocent  sleeper  was  turned  from  the  mur- 
derer,  and  the  beams  of  the  moon  resting  on  the  gray 
lo«  ks  of  the  aged  temple,  showed  him  where  to  strike. 
Tl  e  fatal  blow  is  given!  and  the  victim  passes,  without  a 
st]  uggle  or  a  motion,  from  the  repose  of  sleep  to  the  repose 
of  death!  It  is  the  assassin's  purpose  to  make  sure  work; 
ard  he  yet  plies  the  dagger,  though  it  was  obvious  that  life 
hrd  been  destroyed  by  the  blow  of  the  bludgeon.  He 
e\en  raises  the  aged  arm,  that  he  may  not  fail  in  his  aim 
at  the  heart,  and  replaces  it  again  over  the  wounds  of  the 
p(  niard.     To  finish  the  picture,  he  explores  the   wrist   for 


444  Murdoch's  Elocution. 

the  pulse.  He  feels  for  it,  and  ascertains  that  it  beats  no 
longer !  It  is  accomplished.  The  deed  is  done.  He  re- 
treats, retraces  his  steps  to  the  window,  passes  out  through 
it  as  he  came  in,  and  escapes.  He  has  done  the  murder — 
no  eye  has  seen  him,  no  ear  has  heard  him.  The  secret  is 
his  own,  and  it  is  safe. 

Ah!  gentlemen,  that  was  a  dreadful  mistake.  Such  a 
secret  can  be  safe  nowhere.  The  whole  creation  of  God 
has  neither  nook  nor  corner  where  the  guilty  can  bestow  it 
and  say  that  it  is  safe.  Not  to  speak  of  that  Eye  which 
glances  through  all  disguises,  and  beholds  everything  as  in 
the  splendor  of  noon,  such  secrets  of  guilt  are  never  safe 
from  detection,  even  by  men.  True  it  is,  generally  speak- 
ing, that  ''  Murder  will  out."  True  it  is,  that  Providence 
hath  so  ordained,  and  doth  so  govern  things,  that  those 
who  break  the  great  law  of  heaven  by  shedding  man's 
blood,  seldom  succeed  in  avoiding  discovery.  Especially 
in  a  case  exciting  so  much  attention  as  this,  discovery 
must  come,  and  will  come  sooner  or  later.  A  thousand 
eyes  turn  at  once  to  explore  every  man,  every  thing,  every 
circumstance  connected  with  the  time  and  place;  a  thou- 
sand ears  catch  every  whisper;  a  thousand  excited  minds 
intensely  dwell  on  the  scene,  shedding  all  their  light,  and 
ready  to  kindle  the  slightest  circumstance  into  a  blaze 
of  discovery.  Meantime,  the  guilty  soul  can  not  keep  its 
own  secret.  It  is  false  to  itself;  or  rather  it  feels  an  irre- 
sistible impulse  of  conscience  to  be  true  to  itself.  It  labors 
under  its  guilty  possession,  and  knows  not  what  to  do  with 
it.  The  human  heart  was  not  made  for  the  residence  of 
such  an  inhabitant.  It  finds  itself  preyed  on  by  a  torment 
which  it  dares  not  acknowledge  to  God  or  man.  A  vulture 
is  devouring  it,  and  it  can  ask  no  sympathy  or  assistance 
either  from  heaven  or  earth.  The  secret  which  the  mur- 
derer possesses  soon  comes  to  possess  him,  and  like  the 
evil  spirits  of  which  we  read,  it  overcomes  him  and  leads 


Miscellaneous  Readings  in  Prose.        445 

hiir  whithersoever  it  will.  He  feels  it  beating  at  his  heart, 
risixg  to  his  throat,  and  demanding  disclosure.  He  thinks 
the  whole  world  sees  it  in  his  face,  reads  it  in  his  eyes, 
anc  almost  hears  its  workings  in  the  very  silence  of  his 
thojghts.  It  has  become  his  master.  It  betrays  his  dis- 
creion,  it  breaks  down  his  courage,  it  conquers  his  pru- 
dei  ce.  When  suspicions  from  without  begin  to  embarrass 
him,  and  the  net  of  circumstances  to  entangle  him,  the 
fati.l  secret  struggles  with  still  greater  violence  to  burst 
for  h.  It  must  be  confessed,  it  will  be  confessed,  there  is 
no  refuge  from  confession  but  suicide,  and  suicide  is  con- 
fession. 


Parallel  Between  Pope  and  Dryden. 

N  acquired  knowledge,  the  superiority  must  be  allowed 
to  Dryden,  whose  education  was  more  scholastic,  and  who, 
be  ore  he  became  an  author,  had  been  allowed  more  time 
for  study,  with  better  means  of  information.  His  mind 
ha ;  a  larger  range,  and  he  collects  his  images  and  illustra- 
tiois  from  a  more  extensive  circumference  of  science. 
Diyden  knew  more  of  man,  in  his  general  nature;  and 
Pcpe,  in  his  local  manners.  The  notions  of  Dryden  were 
fojmed  by  comprehensive  speculation;  those  of  Pope,  by 
minute  attention.  There  is  more  dignity  in  the  knowledge 
of  Dryden,  and  more  certainty  in  that  of  Pope. 

Poetry  was  not  the  sole  praise  of  either;  for  both  ex- 
ce  led  likewise  in  prose :  but  Pope  did  not  borrow  his  prose 
frcm  his  predecessor.  The  style  of  Dryden  is  capricious 
ar  d  varied ;  that  of  Pope  is  cautious  and  uniform :  Dryden 
ol  eys  the  motions  of  his  own  mind ;  Pope  constrains  his 
m  nd  to  his  own  rules  of  composition.  Dryden  is  some- 
tiiies  vehement  and  rapid;  Pope  is  always  smooth,  uniform, 
ard   gentle.      Dryden's    page  is  a  natural  field,  rising  into 


446  Murdoch! s  Elocution. 

inequalities,  and  diversified  by  the  varied  exuberance  of 
abundant  vegetation;  Pope's  is  a  velvet  lawn,  shaven  by 
the  scythe  and  levelled  by  the  roller. 

Of  genius — that  power  that  constitutes  a  poet;  that 
quality,  without  which,  judgment  is  cold,  and  knowledge  is 
inert;  that  energy  which  collects,  combines,  amplifies,  and 
animates — the  superiority  must,  with  some  hesitation,  be 
allowed  to  Dryden.  It  is  not  to  be  inferred,  that  of  this 
poetical  vigor.  Pope  had  only  a  little,  because  Dryden  had 
more;  for  every  other  writer,  since  Milton,  must  give 
place  to  Pope;  and  even  of  Dryden  it  must  be  said,  that  if 
he  has  brighter  paragraphs,  he  has  not  better  poems.  Dry- 
den's  performances  were  always  hasty;  either  excited  by 
some  external  occasion,  or  extorted  by  domestic  necessity; 
he  composed  without  consideration,  and  published  without 
correction.  What  his  mind  could  supply  at  call,  or  gather 
in  one  excursion,  was  all  that  he  sought,  and  all  that  he 
gave.  The  dilatory  caution  of  Pope  enabled  him  to  con- 
dense his  sentiments,  to  multiply  his  images,  and  to  ac- 
cumulate all  that  study  might  produce,  or  change  might 
supply.  If  the  flights  of  Dryden,  therefore,  are  higher, 
Pope  continues  longer  on  the  wing.  If  of  Dryden's  fire 
the  blaze  is  brighter;  of  Pope's  the  heat  is  more  regular 
and  constant.  Dryden  often  surpasses  expectation,  and 
Pope  never  falls  below  it.  Dryden  is  read  with  frequent 
astonishment,  and  Pope  with  perpetual  delight. 

— ^Johnson. 


Benevolence  and  Charity. 

Form  as  amiable  sentiments  as  you  can  of  nations,  com- 
munities of  men,  and  individuals.  If  they  are  true,  you 
do  them  only  justice;  if  false,  though  your  opinion  does 
not  alter  their  nature  and  make  them  lovely,  you  yourself 


Miscellaneous  Readings  in  Prose.        447 

are  more  lovely  for  entertaining  such  sentiments.  When 
you  feel  the  bright  warmth  of  a  temper  thoroughly  good  in 
your  own  breast,  you  will  see  something  good  in  every  one 
about  you.  It  is  a  mark  of  littleness  of  spirit  to  confine 
yourself  to  some  minute  part  of  a  man's  character:  a  man 
of  g  merous,  open,  extended  views,  will  grasp  the  whole  of 
it;  A^ithout  which  he  can  not  pass  a  right  judgment  on 
any  part.  He  will  not  arraign  a  man's  general  conduct  for 
two  or  three  particular  actions;  as  knowing  that  man  is  a 
chargeable  creature,  and  will  not  cease  to  be  so,  till  he  is 
unit<jd  to  that  Being,  who  is  'Uhe  same  yesterday,  to-day, 
and  forever."  He  strives  to  out-do  his  friends  in  good 
offices,  and  overcomes  his  enemies  by  them.  He  thinks 
he  ihen  receives  the  greatest  injury,  when  he  returns  and 
revenges  one:  for  then  he  is  ''overcome  of  evil."  Is  the 
pers  Dn  young  who  has  injured  him  ?  He  will  reflect  that  inex- 
peri  mce  of  the  world,  and  a  warmth  of  constitution,  may 
betriy  his  unpracticed  years  into  several  inadvertencies, 
which  a  more  advanced  age,  his  own  good  sense,  and  the 
adv  ce  of  a  judicious  friend,  will  correct  and  rectify.  Is 
he  old?  The  infirmities  of  age  and  want  of  health  may 
havo  set  an  edge  upon  his  spirits,  and  made  him  "speak 
unadvisedly  with  his  lips."  Is  he  weak  and  ignorant?  He 
con  iders  that  it  is  a  duty  incumbent  upon  the  wise  to  bear 
witl  those  that  are  not  so:  "Ye  suffer  fools  gladly,"  says 
St.  Paul,  "seeing  ye  yourselves  are  wise."  In  short,  he 
jud  jes  of  himself,  as  far  as  he  can,  with  the  strict  rigor  of 
justice;  but  of  others,   with  the  softenings  of  humanity. 

From  charitable  and  benevolent  thoughts,  the  transition 
is  li  navoidable  to  charitable  actions.  For  wherever  there  is 
an  inexhaustible  fund  of  goodness  at  the  heart,  it  will, 
uncer  all  the  disadvantages  of  circumstances,  exert  itself  in 
acts  of  substantial  kindness.  He  that  is  substantially  good, 
will  be  doing  good.  The  man  that  has  a  hearty  deter- 
mirate  will  to  be  charitable,  will  seldom  put  men  off  with 


44^  Murdoch' s  Elocution. 

the  mere  will  for  the  deed.  For  a  sincere  desire  to  do 
good,  implies  some  uneasiness  till  the  thing  be  done :  and 
uneasiness  sets  the  mind  at  work,  and  puts  it  upon  the 
stretch  to  find  out  a  thousand  ways  and  means  of  obliging, 
which  will  ever .  escape  the  unconcerned,  the  indifferent, 
and  the  unfeeling. 

The  most  proper  objects  of  your  bounty  are  the  neces- 
sitous. Give  the  same  sum  of  money,  which  you  bestow 
on  a  person  in  tolerable  circumstances,  to  one  in  extreme 
poverty;  and  observe  what  a  wide  disproportion  of  happi- 
ness is  produced.  In  the  latter  case,  it  is  like  giving  a 
cordial  to  a  fainting  person;  in  the  former,  it  is  like  giving 
wine  to  him  who  has  already  quenched  his  thirst. — '*  Mercy 
is  seasonable  in  time  of  affliction,  like  clouds  of  rain  in 
time  of  drought." 

And  among  the  variety  of  necessitous  objects,  none  have 
a  better  title  to  our  compassion,  than  those,  who,  after  hav- 
ing tasted  the  sweets  of  plenty,  are,  by  some  undeserved 
calamity,  obliged,  without  some  charitable  relief,  to  drag 
out  the  remainder  of  life  in  misery  and  woe:  who  little 
thought  they  should  ask  their  daily  bread  of  any  but  of  God ; 
who,  after  a  life  led  in  affluence,  "can  not  dig,  and  are 
ashamed  to  beg."  And  they  are  to  be  relieved  in  such  an 
endearing  manner,  with  such  a  beauty  of  holiness,  that, 
at  the  same  time  that  their  wants  are  supplied,  their  con- 
fusion of  face  may  be  prevented. 

There  is  not  an  instance  of  this  kind  in  history  so  affect- 
ing, as  that  beautiful  one  of  Boaz  to  Ruth.  He  knew  her 
family,  and  how  she  was  reduced  to  the  lowest  ebb;  when, 
therefore,  she  begged  leave  to  glean  in  his  fields,  he  or- 
dered his  reapers  to  let  fall  several  handfuls,  with  a  seem- 
ing carelessness,  but  really  with  a  set  design,  that  she 
might  gather  them  up  without  being  ashamed.  Thus  did 
he  form  an  artful  scheme,  that  he  might  give,  without  the 
vanity  and  ostentation  of  giving;  and  she  receive,  without 


Miscellaneous  Readings  in  Prose.        449 


the  shame  and  confusion  of  making  acknowledgments. 
Take  the  history  in  the  words  of  Scripture,  as  it  is  re- 
corded in  the  book  of  Ruth.  ''And  when  she  was  risen 
up  to  glean,  Boaz  commanded  his  young  men,  saying. 
Let  her  glean  even  among  the  sheaves,  and  reproach  her 
not  And  let  fall  also  some  of  the  handfuls  of  purpose  for 
her  and  leave  them,  that  she  may  glean  them,  and  rebuke 
her  not."  This  was  not  only  doing  a  good  action; — it  was 
doi  ig  it  likewise  with  a  good  grace. 

It  is  not  enough  we  do  no  harm,  that  we  be  negatively 
good;  we  must  do  good,  positive  good,  if  we  would  "enter 
into  life."  When  it  would  have  been  as  good  for  the 
wo  Id,  if  such  a  man  had  never  lived;  it  would  perhaps 
ha\e  been  better  for  him,  "if  he  had  never  been  born." 
A  icanty  fortune  may  limit  your  beneficence,  and  confine 
it  :hiefly  to  the  circle  of.  your  domestics,  relations,  and 
neighbors;  but  let  your  benevolence  extend  as  far  as 
thought  can  travel,  to  the  utmost  bounds  of  the  world: 
juft  as  it  may  be  only  in  your  power  to  beautify  the  spot 
of  ground  that  lies  near  and  close  to  you;  but  you  could 
wi;h,  that,  as  far  as  your  eye  can  reach,  the  whole  prospect 
be  ore  you  were  cheerful,  everything  disagreeable  were  re- 
mc  ved,  and  everything  beautiful  made  more  so. 

— Steele. 


Reflections  on  Westminster  Abbey. 

When  I  am  in  a  serious   humor,   I  very  often  walk  by 

m  ^self  in  Westminster  Abbey :   where   the   gloominess  of 

th  i   place,   and   the  use  to  which  it  is   applied,   with   the 

so  emnity  of  the  building,  and  the  condition  of  the  people 

w  10  lie  in  it,  are  apt  to  fill  the  mind  with  a  kind  of  melan- 

cloly,   or  rather  thoughtfulness,   that   is   not   disagreeable. 

I   yesterday  passed  a  whole  afternoon'  in  the  churchyard, 
M.  e.— 38. 


450  Murdoch! s  Elocution. 

the  cloisters,  and  the  church,  amusing  myself  with  the 
tombstones  and  inscriptions  that  I  met  with  in  those  several 
regions  of  the  dead.  Most  of  them  recorded  nothing  else 
of  the  buried  person,  but  that  he  was  born  upon  one  day, 
and  died  upon  another;  the  whole  history  of  his  life  being 
comprehended  in  those  two  circumstances  that  are  common 
to  all  mankind.  I  could  not  but  look  upon  these  registers 
of  existence,  whether  of  brass  or  marble,  as  a  kind  of 
satire  upon  the  departed  persons;  who  had  left  no  other 
memorial  of  them,  but  that  they  were  born,  and  that  they 
died. 

Upon  my  going  into  the  church,  I  entertained  myself 
with  the  digging  of  a  grave;  and  saw  in  every  shovel-full 
of  it  that  was  thrown  up,  the  fragment  of  a  bone  or  skull 
intermixed  with  a  kind  of  fresh-  mouldering  earth  that 
some  time  or  other  had  a  place  in  the  composition  of  a 
human  body.  Upon  this  I  began  to  consider  with  myself 
what  innumerable  multitudes  of  people  lay  confused  to- 
gether under  the  pavement  of  that  ancient  cathedral;  how 
men  and  women,  friends  and  enemies,  priests  and  soldiers, 
monks  and  prebendaries,  were  crumbled  among  one 
another,  and  blended  together  in  the  same  common  mass; 
how  beauty,  strength,  and  youth,  with  old  age,  weakness, 
and  deformity,  lay  undistinguished  in  the  same  promiscuous 
heap  of  matter. 

I  know  that  entertainments  of  this  nature  are  apt  to 
raise  dark  and  dismal  thoughts  in  timorous  minds  and 
gloomy  imaginations;  but  for  my  own  part,  though  I  am 
always  serious,  I  do  not  know  what  it  is  to  be  melancholy; 
and  can,  therefore,  take  a  view  of  nature  in  her  deep  and 
solemn  scenes  with  the  same  pleasure  as  in  her  most  gay 
and  delightful  ones.  By  this  means,  I  can  improve  myself 
with  those  objects  which  others  consider  with  terror. 
When  I  look  upon  the  tombs  of  the  great,  every  emotion 
of  envy  dies  within  me;  when  I  read  the  epitaphs  of  the 


Miscellaneous  Readings  in  Prose.        45  i 

beaitiful,  every  inordinate  desire  goes  out;  when  I  meet 
with  the  grief  of  parents  upon  a  tombstone,  my  heart 
melts  with  compassion;  when  I  see  the  tomb  of  the  parents 
themselves,  I  consider  the  vanity  of  grieving  for  those 
wh(  m  we  must  quickly  follow.  When  I  see  kings  lying  by 
tho^e  who  deposed  them,  when  I  consider  rival  wits  placed 
sidt  by  side,  or  the  holy  men  that  divided  the  world  with 
their  contests  and  disputes,  I  reflect  with  sorrow  and  aston- 
ishiient  on  the  little  competitions,  factions,  and  debates  of 
mankind.  When  I  read  the  several  dates  of  the  tombs,  of 
sorre  that  died  yesterday,  and  some  six  hundred  years 
ago,  I  consider  that  great  day  when  we  shall  all  of  us  be 
contemporaries,  and  make  our  appearance  together. 

— "Spectator."    ' 


The  Man  of  Genius. 


His  science  is  inexpressibly  subtle,  directly  taught  him 
by  his  Maker,  not  in  any  wise  communicable  or  imitable. 
Ne  ther  can  any  written  or  definitely  observable  laws  enable 
us  o  do  any  great  thing.  It  is  possible,  by  measuring  and 
adriinistering  quantities  of  colour,  to  paint  a  room  wall  so 
tha  it  shall  not  hurt  the  eye ;  but  there  are  no  laws  by 
observing  which  we  can  become  Titians. 

It  is  possible  so  to  measure  and  administer  syllables,  as 
to  :onstruct  harmonious  verse;  but  there  are  no  laws  by 
wh  ch  we  can  write  Iliads.  Out  of  the  poem  or  the 
pic  ure,  once  produced,  men  may  elicit  laws  by  the 
vol  ame,  and  study  them  with  advantage,  to  the  better  un- 
dei  standing  of  the  existing  poem  or  picture;  but  no  more 
wrice  or  paint  another,  than  by  discovering  laws  of  vege- 
tation they  can  make  a  tree  to  grow.  And  therefore, 
wheresoever  we  find  the  system  and  formality  of  rules 
mii:h  dwelt  upon,  and  spoken  of  as  any  thing  else  than  a 


452  Murdochs  Elocution. 

help  for  children,  there  we  may  be  sure  that  noble  art  is 
not  even  understood,  far  less  reached.  And  thus  it  was 
with  all  the  common  and  public  mind  in  the  fifteenth  and 
sixteenth  centuries.  The  greater  men,  indeed,  broke 
through  the  thorn  hedges;  and,  though  much  time  was  lost 
by  the  learned  among  them  in  writing  Latin  verses  and 
anagrams,  and  arranging  the  framework  of  quaint  sonnets 
and  dexterous  syllogisms,  still  they  tore  their  way  through 
the  sapless  thicket  by  force  of  intellect  or  of  piety;  for  it 
was  not  possible  that,  either  in  literature  or  in  painting, 
rules  could  be  received  by  any  strong  mind,  so  as  materi- 
ally to  interfere  with  its  originality;  and  the  crabbed  dis- 
cipline and  exact  scholarship  became  an  advantage  to  the 
hien  who  could  pass  through  and  despise  them;  so  that 
in  spite  of  the  rules  of  the  drama  we  had  Shakespeare, 
and  in  spite  of  the  rules  of  art  we  had  Tintoret, — both 
of  them,  to  this  day,  doing  perpetual  violence  to  the 
vulgar  scholarship  and  dim-eyed  proprieties  of  the  multi- 
tude. 

— RUSKIN. 


Description  of  the  Amphitheatre  of  Titus. 

Posterity  admires,  and  will  long  admire,  the  awful 
remains  of  the  amphitheatre  of  Titus,  which  so  well  de- 
serves the  epithet  of  Colossal.  It  was  a  building  of  an 
elliptic  figure,  five  hundred  and  sixty-four  feet  in  length, 
and  four  hundred  and  sixty-seven  in  breadth :  founded  on 
fourscore  arches;  and  rising,  with  four  successive  orders 
of  architecture,  to  the  height  of  one  hundred  and  forty 
feet.  The  outside  of  the  edifice  was  encrusted  with  mar- 
ble and  decorated  with  statues.  The  slopes  of  the  vast 
concave,  which  formed  the  inside,  were  filled,  and  sur- 
rounded with  sixty  or  eighty  rows  of  seats  of  marble,  cov- 
ered with   cushions,   and  capable   of   receiving  with  ease, 


Miscellaneous  Readings  in  Prose,        453 

abcve  fourscore  thousand  spectators.  Sixty-four  vomitories 
(fo]  by  that  name  the  doors  were  very  aptly  distinguished), 
poired  forth  the  immense  multitude;  and  the  entrances, 
passages,  and  staircases,  were  contrived  with  such  exquisite 
ski]l,  that  each  person,  whether  of  the  senatorial,  the  eques- 
trian, or  the  plebeian  order,  arrived  at  his  destined  place 
witiout  trouble  or  confusion. 

T'Jothing  was  omitted  which,  in  any  respect,  could  be 
sul  servient  to  the  convenience  and  pleasure  of  the  spec- 
tators. They  were  protected  from  the  sun  and  rain  by  an 
ample  canopy,  occasionally  drawn  over  their  heads.  The 
air  was  continually  refreshed  by  the  playing  of  fountains, 
and  profusely  impregnated  by  the  grateful  scent  of  aro- 
ma tics.  In  the  centre  of  the  edifice,  the  arena,  or  stage, 
wa>  strewed  with  the  finest  sand,  and  successively  assumed 
th€  most  different  forms.  At  one  moment,  it  seemed  to 
rise  out  of  the  earth,  like  the  garden  of  the  Hesperides; 
at  another,  it  exhibited  the  rugged  rocks  and  caverns  of 
Thrace.  The  subterraneous  pipes  conveyed  an  inexhausti- 
bk  supply  of  water;  and  what  had  just  before  appeared  a 
le\el  plain,  might  be  suddenly  converted  into  a  wide  lake, 
CO  'ered  with  armed  vessels,  and  replenished  with  the  mon- 
sters of  the  deep. 

;n  the  decorations  of  these  scenes,  the  Roman  emperors 
displayed  their  wealth  and  liberality;  and  we  read,  that,  on 
va  ious  occasions,  the  whole  furniture  of  the  amphitheatre 
CO  isisted  either  of  silver,  or  of  gold,  or  of  amber.  The 
poit  who  describes  the  games  of  Carinus,  in  the  character 
of  a  shepherd,  attracted  to  the  capitol  by  the  fame  of  their 
m:  gnificence,  affirms,  that  the  nets  designed  as  a  defence 
ag  linst  the  wild  beasts,  were  of  gold  wire ;  that  the  porticos 
w(  re  gilded ;  and  that  the  belt  or  circle,  which  divided  the 
se  -eral  r^nks  of  spectators  from  each  other,  was  studded 
wi:h  a  precious  mosaic  of  beautiful  stones. 

—Gibbon. 


454 


Murdoch' s  Elocution. 


DRAMATIC   READINGS. 
Dialogue  Between  King  John  and  Hubert. 

King  John. — Come  hither,  Hubert.     O  my  gentle  Hubert, 
We  owe  thee  much;  within  this  wall  of  flesh 
There  is  a  soul  counts  thee  her  creditor, 
And  with  advantage  means  to  pay  thy  love; 
And,  my  good  friend,  thy  voluntary  oath 
Lives  in  this  bosom,  dearly  cherished. 
Give  me  thy  hand.     I  had  a  thing  to  say, — 
But  I  will  fit  it  with  some  better  time. 
By  heaven,  Hubert,  I  am  almost  asham'd 
To  say  what  good  respect  I  have  of  thee. 
Hubert. — I  am  much  bounden  to  your  majesty. 

King  John. — Good  friend,  thou  hast  no  cause  to  say  so  yet: 

But  thou  shalt  have :  and  creep  time  ne'er  so  slow, 

Yet  it  shall  come  for  me  to  do  thee  good. 

I  had  a  thing  to  say, — but  let  it  go : 

The  sun  is  in  the  heaven,  and  the  proud  day. 

Attended  with  the  pleasures  of  the  world, 

Is  all  too  wanton,  and  too  full  of  gawds. 

To  give  me  audience : — If  the  midnight  bell 

Did,  with  his  iron  tongue  and  brazen  mouth 

Sound  on  into  the  drowsy  race  of  night; 

If  this  same  were  a  churchyard  where  we  stand, 

And  thou  possessed  with  a  thousand  wrongs; 

Or  if  that  surly  spirit,  melancholy. 

Had  bak'd  thy  blood,  and  made  it  heavy,  thick, 

(Which,  else,  runs  tickling  up  and  down  the  veins, 

Making  that  idiot,  laughter,  keep  men's  eyes. 

And  strain  their  cheeks  to  idle  merriment, 

A  passion  hateful  to  my  purposes;) 

Or  if  that  thou  could'st  see  me  without  eyes. 

Hear  me  without  thine  ears,  and  make  reply 

Without  a  tongue,  using  conceit  alone. 

Without  eyes,  ears,  and  harmful  sound  of  words ; 

Then,  in  despite  of  brooded,  watchful  day, 

I  would  into  thy  bosom  pour  my  thoughts: 


Dramatic  Readings.  455 

But  ah !  I  will  not : — Yet  I  love  thee  well ; 

And,   by  my  troth,   I  think,  thou  lov'st  me  well. 
Hubert. — So  well,   that  what  you  bid  me  undertake, 

Though  that  my  death  were  adjunct  to  my  act, 

By  heaven,  I  would  do  it. 
Kin ^  John. — Do  not  I  know  thou  would'st? 

Good  Hubert,   Hubert,  Hubert,   throw  thine  eye 

On  yon  young  boy :  I  '11  tell  thee  what,   my  friend. 

He  is  a  very  serpent  in  my  way; 

And  wheresoe'er  this  foot  of  mine  doth  tread 

He  lies  before  me :  Dost  thou  understand  me  ? 

Thou  art  his  keeper. 
Hubert. — And  I  '11  keep  him  so. 

That  he  shall  not  offend  your  majesty. 
Kh  g  John. — Death. 

Hubert. — My  lord? 
Kivg  John. — A  grave. 

Hubert. — He  shall  not  live. 
Kh  g  John. — Enough. 

I  could  be  merry  now.     Hubert,  I  love  thee. 

Well,  I  '11  not  say  what  I  intend  for  thee : 

Remember. 

— * '  King  John, ' '   SHAKESPEARE. 


Scene  from   "The  Iron  Chest." 

.  <ene    Third.      A  Library.      Sir  Edward  discovered  at  the  writing 
\ib'e.     Adam  Winterton  attending. 

Si)  Edward. — Well  bethought;  send  Walter  to  me. 

I  would  employ  him;  he  must  ride  for  me 
On  business  of  much  import. 
Vinterton. — Lackaday ! 

That  it  should  chance  so !     I  have  sent  him  forth 
To  Winchester,   to  buy  me  flannel  hose. 
For  Winter 's  coming  on.     Good  lack !   that  things 
Should  fall  so  crossly. 


456  Murdocfi  s  Elocution. 

Sir  Edward. — Nay,  nay,  do  not  fret, 

'Tis  better  that  my  business  cool,  good  Adam, 
Than  thy  old  limbs. — Is  Wilfred  waiting  ? 
Winterton.—Yit  is; 

Here,  in  the  hall,  sir.  ^ 

Sir  Edward. — Send  him  in,   I  prithee. 
Winterton. — I  shall,  sir.     Heaven  bless  you!     Heaven  bless  you! 

Exit  Winterton. 

Sir  Edtuard. — Good  morning,  good  old  heart :  \_Rising.'] 
This  honest  soul, 

Would  fain  look  cheery  in  my  house's  gloom. 
And,  like  a  gay  and  sturdy  evergreen. 
Smiles  in  the  midst  of  blast  and  desolation. 
Where  all  around  him  withers.     Well,  well, — wither! 
Perish  this  frail  and  fickle  frame ! — this  clay. 
That,  in  its  dross-like  compound,  doth  contain 
The  mind's  pure  ore  and  essence.     Oh !  that  mind, 
That  mind  of  man!   that  god-like  spring  of  action! 
That  source  whence  learning,  virtue,  honor,  flow ! 
Which  lifts  us  to  the  stars — which  carries  us 
O'er  the  swollen  waters  of  the  angry  deep, 
As  swallows  skim  the  air !     That  fame's  sole  fountain, 
That  doth  transmit  a  fair  and  spotless  name. 
When  the  vile  trunk  is  rotten !     Give  me  that ! 
Oh !  give  me  but  to  live  in  after-age. 
Remembered  and  unsullied !     Heaven  and  earth  ! 
Let  my  pure  flame  of  honor  shine  in  story. 
When  I  am  cold  in  death,  and  the  slow  fire 
That  wears  my  vitals  now  will  no  more  move  me 
Than  't  would  a  corpse  within  a  monument ! 
Books !     Books  ! — 

(My  only  commerce  now,)   will  sometimes  rouse  me 
Beyond  my  nature.     I  have  been  so  warmed, 
So  heated  by  a  well-turned  rhapsody, 
That  I  have  seemed  the  hero  of  the  tale, 
So  glowingly  described.     Draw  me  a  man 
Struggling  for  fame,  attaining,   keeping  it. 
Dead  ages  since,  and  the  historian 
Decking  his  memory,  in  polished  phrase, — 


Dramatic  Readings.  457 

And  I  can  follow  him  through  every  turn, 
Grow  wild  in  his  exploits,  myself  himself, 
Until  the  thick  pulsation  of  my  heart 
Wakes  me,  to  ponder  on  the  thing  I  am! 

— COLMAN. 


Scene  from  Henry  V. 


Erter  the  English  host,  Gloster,  Bedford,  Exeter,  Salisbury, 
and  Westmoreland. 

Coster. — Where  is  the  king? 
Bedford. — The  king  himself  is  rode  to  view  their  battle. 
We.  tni'd. — Of  fighting  men  they  have  full  threescore  thousand. 

Exeter. — There's  five  to  one;  besides,  they  all  are  fresh. 
Sail  bury. — God's  arm  strike  with  us!   'tis  a  fearful  odds. 

God   be   wi'   you,    princes  all ;  I  '11  to  my  charge : 
If  we  no  more  meet  till  we  meet  in  heaven, 
Then,  joyfully; — my  noble  lord  of  Bedford, 
My  dear  lord  Gloster,  and  my  good  lord  Exeter, 
And  my  kind  kinsman,   warriors  all, — adieu ! 
Bedford. — Farewell,  good  Salisbury;  and  good  luck  go  with  thee! 
Exeter. — Farewell,  kind  lord,    fight  valiantly  to-day; 

And  yet  I  do  thee  wrong    to  mind  thee  of  it, 
For  thou  art  fram'd  for  the  firm  truth  of  valour. 

Exit  Salisbury. 

Bedford. — He  is  as  full  of  valour    as  of  kindness; 

Princely  in  both. 
We  tm'd, — O  that  we  now  had  here 

Enter  King  Henry. 

But  one  ten  thousand  of  those  men  in  England 

That  do  no  work  to-day  ! 

K.  l^enry.—  What's  he,  that  wishes  so? 

My  cousin  Westmoreland  ? — No,  my  fair  cousin : 

If  we  are  marked  to  die,  we  are  enough 

To  do  our  country  loss;  and  if  to  live. 

The  fewer  men    the  greater  share  of  honour. 
M.  E.— 39. 


458  Murdoch's  Elocution, 


God's  will!     I  pray  thee,  wish  not  one  man  more. 

By  Jove,   I  am  not  covetous  for  gold; 

Nor  care  I  who  doth  feed  upon  my  cost; 

It  yearns  me  not  if  men  my  garments  wear; 

Such  outward  things  dwell  not  in  my  desires: 

But  if  it  be  a  sin  to  covet  honour 

I  am  the  most  offending  soul  alive. 

No,  'faith,  my  coz,  wish  not  a  man  from  England: 

God's  peace !   I  would  not  lose  so  great  an  honour, 

As  one  man  more,  methinks,   would  share  from  me, 

For  the  best  hope  I   have.      O,  do  not  wish  one  more. 

Rather  proclaim  it,  Westmoreland,  through  my  host. 

That  he  which  hath  no  stomach  to  this  fight. 

Let  him  depart ;  his  passport  shall  be  made, 

And  crowns  for  convoy  put  into  his  purse: 

We  would  not  die  in  that  man's  company 

That  fears  his  fellowship  to  die  with  us. 

This  day  is  called — the  feast  of  Crispian  : 

He  that  outlives  this  day,  and  comes  safe  home, 

Will  stand  a  tiptoe  when  this  day  is  nam'd, 

And  rouse  him  at  the  name  of  Crispian. 

He  that  shall  see  this  day,  and  live  old  age. 

Will  yearly  on  the  vigil  feast  his  neighbours. 

And  say, — Tomorrow  is  Saint  Crispian: 

Then  will  he  strip  his  sleeve,  and  show  his  scars. 

And  say,    These  wounds  I  had  on   Crispin's  day. 

Old  men  forget;  yet  all  shall  be  forgot. 

But  he  '11  remember,  with  advantages. 

What  feats  he  did  that  day:  then  shall  our  names, 

Familiar  in  their  mouths  as  household  words,^— 

Harry  the  king,  Bedford  and  Exeter, 

Warwick  and  Talbot,  Salisbury  and  Gloster,— 

Be  in  their  flowing  cups  freshly  remember'd : 

This  story  shall  the  good  man  teach  his  son ; 

And   Crispin   Crispian  shall  ne'er  go  by, 

From  this  day  to  the  ending  of  the  world. 

But  we  in  it  shall  be  remember'd : 

We  few,  we  happy  few,  we  band  of  brothers; 

For  he  to-day  that  sheds  his  blood  with  me 

Shall  be  my  brother;  be  he  ne'er  so  vile. 

This  day  shall  gentle  his  condition  : 


Dramatic  Readings.  459 

And  gentlemen  in  England,  now  abed, 
Shall  think  themselves  accurs'd  they  were  not  here; 
And  hold  their  manhoods  cheap,  whiles  any  speaks 
That  fought  with  us  upon  Saint  Crispin's  Day. 

Enter  Salisbury. 

Salisbury. — My  sovereign  lord,-  bestow  yourself  with  speed; 
The  French  are  bravely  in  their  battles  set, 
And  will  with  all  expedience  charge  on  us. 
K.  ITenry. — All  things  are  ready,  if  our  minds  be  so. 

Wt  ^tm'd. — Perish  the  man  whose  mind  is  backward  now ! 
K.  Henry. — Thou  dost  not  wish  more  help  from  England,  coz? 
WiHm'd. — God's  will,   my  liege,   'would  you  and  I  alone. 
Without  more  help,   could    fight  this  battle  out ! 
K.  ihnry. — Why,  now  thou  hast  unwished  five  thousand  men; 
Which  likes  me  better    than  to  wish  us  one. — 
You  know  your  places.     God  be  with  you  all! 

— Shakespeare. 


Scene  from  Richard  III. 

Si  me  IV.     London.     A  room  in  the   Tower.     Enter  CLARENCE  and 
Bra  kenbury. 

Bra  kenbury. — Why  looks  your  grace  so  heavily  to-day  ? 
( 'larence. — O,   I  have  pass'd  a  miserable  night. 

So  full  of  fearful  dreams,  of  ugly  sights, 
That,  as  I  am  a  Christian-faithful  man, 
I  would  not  spend  another  such  a  night 
Though  't  were  to  buy  a  world  of  happy  days ; 
So  full  of  dismal  terror  was  the  time. 

Bra  kenbury.— V^hdii  was  your  dream,  my  lord  ?     I  pray  you,  tell  me. 
(^larence. — Methought  that  I  had  broken  from  the  Tower, 
And  was  embarked  to  cross  to  Burgundy; 
And  in  my  company  my  brother  Gloster  : 
Who  from  my  cabin  tempted  me  to  walk 
Upon  the  hatches;    there  we  look'd  toward   England, 
And  cited  up  a  thousand  heavy  times, 
During  the  wars  of  York  and  Lancaster, 


460  Murdochs  Elocution, 

* 

That  had  befall'n  us.     As  we  pac'd  along 
Upon  the  giddy  footing  of  the  hatches, 
Methought  that  Gloster  stumbled ;  and,  in  falling. 
Struck  me,   that  thought  to  stay  him,  overboard. 
Into  the  tumbling  billows  of  the  main. 

0  Lord !   methought  what  pain  it  was  to  drown ! 
What  dreadful  noise  of  water  in  mine  ears! 
What  sights  of  ugly  death  within  mine  eyes! 
Methought  I  saw  a  thousand  fearful  wracks; 

A  thousand  men  that  fishes  gnaw'd  upon ; 

Wedges  of  gold,  great  anchors,  heaps  of  pearl, 

Inestimable  stones,  unvalued  jewels. 

All  scatter'd  in  the  bottom  of  the  sea. 

Some  lay  in  dead  men's  skulls;  and  in  those  holes 

Where  eyes  did  once  inhabit  there  were  crept, 

As  't  were  in  scorn  of  eyes,  reflecting  gems. 

That  woo'd  the  slimy  bottom  of  the  deep. 

And  mocked  the  dead  bones  that  lay  scatter'd  by. 

Brakenbury. — Had  you  such  leisure  in  the  time  of  death. 
To  gaze  upon  these  secrets  of  the  deep? 
Clarence. — Methought  I  had ;  and  often  did  I  strive 

To  yield  the  ghost:  but  still  the  envious  flood 
Stopt  in  my  soul,  and  would  not  let  it  forth 
To  fina  the  empty,  vast,  and  wand'ring  air; 
But  smothered  it  within  my  panting  bulk. 
Which  almost  burst  to  belch  it  in  the  sea. 

Brakenbury.— K}N2i^^^  you  not  in  this  sore  agony? 

Clarence. — No,  no,  my  dream  was  lengthen'd  after  life; 
O,  then  began  the  tempest  to  my  soul ! 

1  pass'd,  methought,  the  melancholy  flood 
With  that  sour  ferryman  which  poets  write  of. 
Unto  the  kingdom  of  perpetual  night. 

The  first  that  there  did  greet  my  stranger  soul, 
Was  my  great  father-in-law,  renowned  Warwick ;     . 
Who  spake  aloud, — "  What  scourge  for  perjury 
Can  this  dark  monarchy  aff"ord  false  Clarence?" 
And  so  he  vanish'd :  then  came  wandering  by 
A  shadow,  like  an  angel,  with  bright  hair 
Dabbled  in  blood ;  and  he  shrieked  out  aloud, — 
"  Clarence  is  come, — false,  fleeting,  perjur'd  Clarence, - 
That  stabbed  me  in  the  field  by  Tewkesbury ; — 


Di^amatic  Readings.  461 

Seize  on  him,   furies,   take  him  unto  torment!" 
With  that,  methought,  a  legion  of  foul  fiends 
Environ'd  me,  and  howled  in  mine  ears 
Such  hideous  cries,   that,  with  the  very  noise 
I  trembling  waked,   and,  for  a  season  after, 
Could  not  believe  but  that  I  was  in  hell; 
Such  terrible  impression  made  my  dream. 
Brakifibury. — No  marvel,  lord,   though  it  affrighted  you: 
I  am  afraid,  methinks,   to  hear  you  tell  it. 
C'arence. — O,   Brakenbury,  I  have  done  these  things, — 
That  now  give  evidence  against  my  soul, — 
For  Edward's  sake ;  and  see  how  he  requites  me ! 

0  God!  if  my  deep  prayers  can  not  appease  thee, 
But  thou  wilt  be  aveng'd  on  my  misdeeds. 

Yet  execute  thy  wrath  on  me  alone; 

O,  spare  my  guiltless  wife  and  my  poor  children ! 

1  pray  thee,  gentle  keeper,  stay  by  me; 
My  soul  is  heavy,  and  I  fain  would  sleep. 

Braf  enbury. — I  will,  my  lord ;  God  give  your  grace  good  rest ! 

Clarence  retires. 

Sorrow  breaks  seasons  and  reposing  hours, — 
Makes  the  night  morning,  and   the  noontide  night. 
Princes  have  but  their  titles  for  their  glories. 
An  outward  honor  for  an  inward  toil  ; 
And,  for  unfelt  imaginations. 
They  often  feel  a  world  of  restless  cares ; 
So  that,  between  their  titles,  and  low  name. 
There  's  nothing  differs,  but  the  outward  fame. 

— Shakespeare. 


Scene  from  Hamlet. 

Sc  ne   I.     A  room  in  Polonius's  house.     Enter  PoLONlUS  and  Rey- 

NAL  )0. 

Pol  nius. — Give  him  this  money,  and  these  notes,  Reynaldo. 
Rey>  aldo. — I  will,  my  lord. 
Poh  nius. — You  shall  do  marvellous  wisely,  good  Reynaldo, 

Before  you  visit  him,  to  make  inquire 

Of  his  behaviour. 


462  Murdoch' s  Elocution. 

Reynaldo. — My  lord,  I  did  intend  it. 

Polonius. — Marry,   well  said :  very  well  said.     Look  you,  sir, 
Inquire  me  first  what  Danskers  are  in  Paris; 
And  how,  and  who,   what  means,  and  where  they  keep, 
What  company,  at  what  expense;  and  finding. 
By  this  encompassment  and  drift  of  question. 
That  they  do  know  my  son,  come  you  more  nearer 
Than  your  particular  demands  will  touch  it : 
Take   you,  as  'twere,  some  distant   knowledge  of  him; 
I  As  thus, — '  I  know  his  father,  and  his  friends, 

And,  in  part,  him ; ' — do  you  mark  this,  Reynaldo  ? 

Reynaldo. — Ay,  very  well,  my  lord. 

Polonius. — 'And,  in  part,  him;  but,'  you  may  say,   'not  well: 
But,  if  't  be  he  I  mean,  he 's  very  wild ; 
Addicted  so  and  so  : '  and  there  put  on  him 
What  forgeries  you  please;  marry,  none  so  rank 
.    As  may  dishonour  him ;  take  heed  of  that ; 
But,  sir,  such  wanton,  wild,  and  usual  slips, 
As  are  companions  noted  and  most  known 
To  youth  and  liberty. 

Reynaldo. —  As  gaming,   my  lord. 

Polonius. — Ay,  or  drinking,  fencing,  swearing,  quarreling, 
Drabbing : — you  may  go  so  far. 

Reynaldo. — My  lord,  that  would  dishonour  him. 

Polonius. — 'Faith,  no ;  as  you  may  season  it  in  the  charge. 
You  must  not  put  another  scandal  on  him, 
That  he  is  open  to  incontinency ; 
That 's    not    my    meaning :    but    breathe    his    faults    so 

quaintly. 
That  they  may  seem  the  taints  of  liberty : 
The  flash  and  outbreak  of  a  fiery  mind ; 
A  savageness  in  unreclaimed  blood. 
Of  general  assault. 

Reynaldo. —  But,  my  good  lord, — 

Polonius. — Wherefore  should  you  do  this? 

Reynaldo. —  Ay,  my  lord, 

I  would  know  that. 

Polonius. —  Marry,  sir,  here's  my  drift; 

And,  I  believe,  it  is  a  fetch  of  warrant : 
You  laying  these  slight  sullies  on  my  son. 
As  'twere  a  thing  a  little  soil'd  i'  the  working. 


Dramatic  Readings.  463 

Mark  you, 

Your  party  in  converse,  him  you  would  sound, 
Having  ever  seen,  in  the  prenominate  crimes. 
The  youth  you  breathe  of,   guilty,  be  assur'd, 
He  closes  with  you  in  this  consequence; 
'Good  sir,'  or  so;  or,   'friend,  or  gentleman,' — 
According  to  the  phrase  and  the  addition. 
Of  man,  and  country. 

Reynxldo. —  Very  good,  my  lord. 

Polo  tius, — And  then,  sir,  does  he  this, — he  does — 
What  was  I  about  to  say?     By  the  mass, 
I  was  about  to  say  something: — Where  did  I  leave? 

Reyn  xldo. — At,   '  closes  in  the  consequence. 

At  friend,  or  so,   and  gentleman.' 

Poloiius. — At,   closes  in  the  consequence, — Ay,  marry; 

He  closes  with  you  thus : — •  I  know  the  gentleman ; 

I  saw  him  yesterday,  or  't  other  day. 

Or    then,   or    then ;    with  such,   and   such ;   and,  as  you 

say, 
There  was  he  gaming ;  there  o'ertook  in  his  rouse : 
There  falling  out  at  tennis ; '  or  perchance, 
•  'I  saw  him  enter  such  a  house  of  sale,' 

(Videlicet,  a  brothel,)  or  so  forth. — 
See  you  now ; 

Your  bait  of  falsehood  takes  this  carp  of  truth : 
And  thus  do  we  of  wisdom  and  of  reach, 
With  windlaces,  and  with  assays  of  bias, 
By  indirections  find  directions  out ; 
So,  by  my  former  lecture  and  advice. 
Shall  you  my  son.     You  have  me,  have  you  not? 

Reyn,  Ido. — My  lord,   I  have. 

Polo,  ius. —  God  be  wi'  you  ;  fare  you  well. 

Reym  Ido. — Good  my  lord  ! 

Poloi  ius. — Observe  his  inclination  in  yourself. 

Rey7ii  Ida. — I  shall,   my  lord. 

P0I07  iui. — And  let  him  ply  his  music. 

Reyn,  Ida. — Well,  my  lord. 

— Shakespeare. 


464  Murdochs  Elocution. 

BIBLE  READINGS. 
The  Prodigal  Son. 

And  he  said,  A  certain  man  had  two  sons:  And  the 
younger  of  them  said  to  his  father,  Father,  give  me  the 
.  portion  of  goods  that  falleth  to  me.  And  he  divided  unto 
them  his  living. 

And  not  many  days  after  the  younger  son  gathered  all 
together,  and  took  his  journey  into  a  far  country,  and 
there  wasted  his  substance  with  riotous  living. 

And  when  he  had  spent  all,  there  arose  a  mighty  famine 
in  that  land;  and  he  began  to  be  in  want. 

And  he  went  and  joined  himself  to  a  citizen  of  that 
country;  and  he  sent  him  into  his  fields  to  feed  swine. 

And  he  would  fain  have  filled  his  belly  with  the  husks 
that  the  swine  did  eat:  and  no  man  gave  unto  him. 

And  when  he  came  to  himself,  he  said,  How  many  hired 
servants  of  my  father's  have  bread  enough  and  to  spare, 
and  I  perish  with  hunger ! 

I  will  arise  and  go  to  my  father,  and  will  say  unto  him, 
Father,  I  have  sinned  against  heaven,  and  before  thee,  and 
am  no  more  worthy  to  be  called  thy  son :  make  me  as  one 
of  thy  hired  servants. 

And  he  arose,  and  came  to  his  father.  But  when  he 
was  yet  a  great  way  off,  his  father  saw  him,  and  had  com- 
passion, and  ran,  and  fell  on  his  neck,  and  kissed  him. 

And  the  son  said  unto  him.  Father,  I  have  sinned 
against  heaven,  and  in  thy  sight,  and  am  no  more  worthy 
to  be  called  thy  son. 

But  the  father  said  to  his  servants,  Bring  forth  the  best 
robe,  and  put  it  on  him;  and  put  a  ring  on  his  hand,  and 
shoes  on  his  feet: 

And  bring  hither  the  fatted  calf,  and  kill  it;  and  let  us 
eat,  and  be  merry: 


Bible  Readings.  465 


jii'or  this  my  son  was  dead,  and  is  alive  again;  he  was 
los;,  and  is  found.     And  they  began  to  be  merry. 

Now  his  elder  son  was  in  the  field :  and  as  he  came  and 
drew  nigh  to  the  house,  he  heard  music  and  dancing. 

And  he  called  one  of  the  servants,  and  asked  what  these 
thi  igs  meant. 

And  he  said  unto  him.  Thy  brother  is  come;  and  thy 
fatiier  hath  killed  the  fatted  calf,  because  he  hath  received 
him  safe  and  sound. 

And  he  was  angry,  and  would  not  go  in:  therefore  came 
his  father  out,  and  intreated  him. 

And  he  answering,  said  to  his  father,  Lo,  these  many 
yejrs  do  I  serve  thee,  neither  transgressed  I  at  any  time 
th)  commandment:  and  yet  thou  never  gavest  me  a  kid, 
that  I  might  make  merry  with  my  friends: 

3ut  as  soon  as  this  thy  son  was  come,  which  hath  de- 
voured thy  living  with  harlots,  thou  hast  killed  for  him  the 
fat  ed  calf. 

And  he  said  unto  him.  Son,  thou  art  ever  with  me,  and 
all  that  I  have  is  thine. 

t  was  meet  that  we  should  make  merry,  and  be  glad : 
for  this  thy  brother  was  dead,  and  is  alive  again;  and  was 
los;,  and  is  found. 


-St.  Luke. 


Select  Passages  from  the  Book  of  Job. 

Then  the  Lord  answered  Job  out  of  the  whirlwind,  and 
sai  i, 

Vho  is  this  that  darkeneth  counsel  by  words  without 
kn  )wledge  ? 

jird  up  now  thy  loins  like  a  man;  for  I  will  demand  of 
thte,  and  answer  thou  me. 

Vhere  wast  thou  when  I  laid  the  foundations  of  the 
ea]  th  ?  declare,  if  thou  hast  understanding. 


466  Murdoch! s  Elocution. 

Who  hath  laid  the  measures  thereof,  if  thou  knowest?  or 
who  hath  stretched  the  line  upon  it? 

Whereupon  are  the  foundations  thereof  fastened?  or 
who  laid  the  corner  stone  thereof; 

When  the  morning  stars  sang  together,  and  all  the  sons 
of  God  shouted  for  joy  ? 

Or  who  shut  up  the  sea  with  doors,  when  it  brake  forth, 
as  if  it  had  issued  out  of  the  womb? 

When  I  made  the  cloud  the  garment  thereof,  and  thiclj 
darkness  a  swaddling  band  for  it. 

And  brake  up  for  it  my  decreed  place,  and  set  bars  and 
doors. 

And  said,  Hitherto  shalt  thou  come,  but  no  further:  and 
here  shall  thy  proud  waves  be  stayed? 

Hast  thou  commanded  the  morning  since  thy  days;  and 
caused  the  dayspring  to  know  his  place  ? 

Hast  thou  entered  into  the  springs  of  the  sea?  or  hast 
thou  walked  in  the  search  of  the  depth? 

Have  the  gates  of  death  been  opened  unto  thee?  or  hast 
thou  seen  the  doors  of  the  shadow  of  death? 

Where  is  the  way  where  light  dwelleth  ?  and  as  for  dark- 
ness, where  is  the  place  thereof? 

Knowest  thou  it,  because  thou  wast  then  born?  or  be- 
cause t|ie  number  of  thy  days  is  great? 

By  what  way  is  the  iight  parted,  which  scattereth  the 
east  wind  upon  the  earth? 

Who  hath  divided  a  water-course  for  the  overflowing  of 
waters,   or  a  way  for  the  lightning  of  thunder; 

To  cause  it  to  rain  on  the  earth,  where  no  man  is;  on 
the  wilderness,   wherein  there  is  no  man; 


Bible  Readings.  467 


To  satisfy  the  desolate  and  waste  ground;  and  to  cause 
the  bud  of  the  tender  herb  to  spring  forth? 

(^lanst  thou  bind  the  sweet  influences  of  Pleiades,  or 
loose  the  bands  of  Orion? 

(^anst  thou  bring  forth  Mazzaroth  in  his  season?  or  canst 
thcu  guide  Arcturus  with  his  sons? 

Jvnowest  thou  the  ordinances  of  heaven?  canst  thou  set 
the  dominion  thereof  in  the  earth? 

(^anst  thou  lift  up  thy  voice  to  the  clouds,  that  abund- 
ance of  waters  may  cover  thee? 

(llanst  thou  send  lightnings,  that  they  may  go,  and  say 
umo  thee,  Here  we  are? 

Who  hath  put  wisdom  in  the  inward  parts?  or  who  hath 
giv2n  understanding  to  the  heart? 

Hast  thou  given  the  horse  strength?  hast  thou  clothed 
his  neck  with  thunder? 

('anst  thou  make  him  afraid  as  a  grasshopper?  the  glory 
of  bis  nostrils  is  terrible.  ' 

He  paweth  in  the  valley,  and  rejoiceth  in  his  strength: 
he  goeth  on  to  meet  the  armed  men. 

He  mocketh  at  fear,  and  is  not  affrighted;  neither 
tur  leth  he  back  from  the  sword. 

'  'he  quiver  rattleth  against  him,  the  glittering  spear  and 
the  shield. 

]  le  swalloweth  the  ground  with  fierceness  and  rage : 
nei  ;her  believeth  he  that  it  is  the  sound  of  the  trumpet. 

]  le  saith  among  the  trumpets.  Ha,  ha !  and  he  smelleth  the 
bat  :le  afar  off,  the  thunder  of  the  captains,  and  the  shouting. 

.Moreover  the  Lord  answered  Job,  and  said, 
^  hall  he  that  contendeth  with  the  Almighty  instruct  him  ? 
he  that  reproveth  God,  let  him  answer  it. 


468  Murdoch's  Elocution. 

Then  Job  answered  the  Lord,  and  said, 
I  know  that   thou   canst   do   every  thing,    and   that   no 
thought  can  be  withholden  from  thee. 


Selection  from  the  Book  of  Isaiah. 

The  wilderness  and  the  solitary  place  shall  be  glad  for 
them;  and  the  desert  shall  rejoice,  and  blossom  as  the  rose. 

It  shall  blossom  abundantly,  and  rejoice  even  with  joy 
and  singing :  the  glory  of  Lebanon  shall  be  given  unto  it, 
the  excellency  of  Carmel  and  Sharon,  they  shall  see  the 
glory  of  the  Lord,  and  the  excellency  of  our  God. 

Strengthen  ye  the  weak  hands,  and  confirm  the  feeble 
knees. 

Say  to  them  that  are  of  a  fearful  heart.  Be  strong,  fear 
not:  behold,  your  God  will  come  with  vengeance,  even 
God  with  a  recompense;    he  will  come  and  save  you. 

Then  the  eyes  of  the  blind  shall  be  opened,  and  the  ears 
of  the  deaf  shall  be  unstopped.  Then  shall  the  lame  man 
leap  as  an  hart,  and  the  tongue  of  the  dumb  sing :  for  in  the 
wilderness  shall  waters  break  out,  and  streams  in  the  desert. 

And  the  parched  ground  shall  become  a  pool,  and  the 
thirsty  land  springs  of  water :  in  the  habitation  of  dragons, 
where  each  lay,  shall  be  grass  with  reeds  and  rushes. 

And  an  highway  shall  be  there,  and  a  way,  and  it  shall 
be  called  The  way  of  holiness;  the  unclean  shall  not  pass 
over  it;  but  it  shall  be  for  those:  the  wayfaring  ipen, 
though  fools,  shall  not  err  therein. 

No  lion  shall  be  there,  nor  any  ravenous  beast  shall  go 
up  thereon,  it  shall  not  be  found  there ;  but  the  redeemed 
shall  walk  there : 

And  the  ransomed  of  the  Lord  shall  return,  and  come 
to  Zion  with  songs  and  everlasting  joy  upon  their  heads: 
they  shall  obtain  joy  and  gladness,  and  sorrow  and  sighing 
shall  flee  away. 


Miscellaneous  Readings  in  Poetry.       469 

MISCELLANEOUS  READINGS  IN  POETRY. 

The  Vision  of  Sir  Launfal. 

first  prelude. 

Over  his  keys  the  musing  organist, 

Beginning  doubtfully  and   far  away, 
First  lets  his  fingers  wander  as  they  list. 

And  builds  a  bridge  from  Dreamland  for  his  lay: 
Then,  as  the  touch  of  his  loved  instrument 

Gives  hope  and  fervor,  nearer  draws  his  theme, 
First  guessed  by  faint  auroral  flushes  sent 

Along  the  wavering  vista  of  his  dream. 


Not  only  around  our  infancy 

Doth  heaven  with  all  its  splendors  lie ; 

Daily,  with  souls  that  cringe  and  plot, 

We  Sinais  climb  and  know  it  not; 

Over  our  manhood  bend  the  skies; 

Against  our  fallen  and  traitor  lives 

The  great  winds   utter  prophecies ; 

With  our  faint  hearts  the  mountain  strives, 

Its  arms  outstretched,   the  druid  wood 

Waits  with  its  benedicite; 

And  to  our  age's  drowsy  blood 

Still  shouts  the  inspiring  sea. 

Earth  gets  its  price  for  what   Earth  gives  us; 

The  beggar  is  taxed  for  a  corner  to  die  in. 

The  priest  hath  his  fee  who  comes  and  shrives  us, 

We  bargain  for  the  graves  we  lie  in ; 

At  the  Devil's  booth  are  all  things  sold. 

Each  ounce  of  dross  costs  its  ounce  of  gold  ; 

For  a  cap  and  bells  our  lives  we  pay, 

Bubbles  we  earn  with  a  whole  soul's  tasking  : 

'Tis  heaven  alone  that  is  given  away, 

'Tis  only  God  may  be  had  for  the  asking; 


470  Murdoch's  Elocution. 

No  price  is  set  on  the  lavish  summer, 

And  June  may  be  had  by  the  poorest  comer. 

And  what  is  so  rare  as  a  day  in  June  ? 

Then,  if  ever,  come  perfect  days; 

Then  Heaven  tries  the  earth  if  it  be  in  tune, 

And  over  it  softly  her  warm  ear  lays : 

Whether  we  look,   or  whether  we  listen. 

We  hear  life  murmur,  or  see  it  glisten; 

Every  clod  feels  a  stir  of  might, 

An  instinct  within  it  that  reaches  and  towers, 

And,  groping  blindly  above  it  for  light. 

Climbs  to  a  soul  in  grass  and  flowers; 

The  flush  of  life  may  well  be  seen 

Thrilling  back  over  hills  and  valleys; 

The  cowslip  startles  in  meadows  green, 

The  buttercup  catches  the  sun  in  its  chalice. 

And  there  's  never  a  leaf  nor  a  blade  too  mean 

To  be  some  happy  creature's  palace ; 

The  little  bird  sits  at  his  door  in  the  sun, 

Atilt  like  a  blossom  among  the  leaves. 

And  lets  his  illumined  being  o'errun 

With  the  deluge  of  summer  it  receives ; 

His  mate  feels  the  eggs  beneath  her  wings, 

And  the  heart  in  her  dumb  breast  flutters  and  sings; 

He  sings  to  the  wide  world,  and  she  to  her  nest, — 

In  the  nice  ear  of  Nature  which  song  is  the  best  ? 

Now  is  the  high-tide  of  the  year. 

And  whatever  of  life  hath  ebbed  away 

Comes  flooding  back,  with  a  ripply  cheer, 

Into  every  bare  inlet  and  creek  and  bay ; 

Now  the  heart  is  so  full  that  a  drop  overfills  it, 

We  are  happy  now  because  God  wills  it ; 

No  matter  how  barren  the  past  may  have  been, 

'T  is  enough  for  us  now  that  the  leaves  are  green ; 

We  sit  in  the  warm  shade  and  feel  right  well 

How  the  sap  creeps  up  and  the  blossoms  swell  ; 

We  may  shut  our  eyes,  but  we  can  not  help  knowing 

That  skies  are  clear  and  grass  is  growing ; 

The  breeze  comes  whispering  in  our  ear. 

That  dandelions  are  blossoming  near. 


Miscellaneous  Readings  in  Poetry.       471 

That  maize  has  sprouted,   that  streams  are  flowing, 

That  the  river  is  bluer  than  the  sky. 

That  the  robin  is  plastering  his  house  hard  by ; 

And  if  the  breeze  kept  the  good  news  back, 

For  other  couriers  we  should  not  lack ; 

We  could  guess  it  all  by  yon   heifer's  lowing, — 

And  hark !    how  clear  bold  chanticleer, 

Warmed  with  the  new  wine  of  the  year, 

Tells  all  in  his  lusty  crowing ! 

Joy  comes,  grief  goes,   we  know  not  how; 

Everything  is  happy  now. 

Everything  is  upward  striving; 

'Tis  as  easy  now  for  the  heart  to  be  true 

As  for  grass  to  be  green  or  skies  to  be  blue, — 

'T  is  the  natural  way  of  living : 

Who  knows  whither  the  clouds  have  fled  ? 

In  the  unscarred  heaven  they  leave  no  wake ; 

And  the  eyes  forget  the  tears  they  have  shed, 

The  heart  forgets  its  sorrow  and  ache; 

The  soul  partakes  the  season's  youth. 

And  the  sulphurous  rifts  of  passion  and  woe 

Lie  deep  'neath  a  silence  pure  and  smooth, 

Like  burnt  out  craters  healed  with  snow. 


SECOND    PRELUDE. 

Down  swept  the  chill  wind  from  the  mountain  peak. 

From  the  snow  five  thousand  summers  old ; 

On  open  wold  and  hill-top  bleak 

It  had  gathered  all  the  cold. 

And  whirled  it  like  sleet  on  the  wanderer's  cheek ; 

It  carried  a  shiver  everywhere 

From  the  unleafed  boughs  and  pastures  bare; 

The  little  brook  heard  it  and  built  a  roof 

'Neath  which  he  could  house  him,  winter-proof; 

All  night  by  the  white  stars'  frosty  gleams 

He  groined  his  arches  and  matched  his  beams ; 

Slender  and  clear  were  his  crystal  spars 

As  the  lashes  of  light  that  trim  the  stars ; 


472  Murdoch's  Elocution. 

He  sculptured  every  summer  delight 

In  his  halls  and  chambers  out  of  sight ; 

Sometimes  his  tinkling  waters  slipt 

Down  through  a  frost-leaved  forest-crypt, 

Long,  sparkling  aisles  of  steel-stemmed  trees 

Bending  to  counterfeit  a  breeze ; 

Sometimes  the»  roof  no  fretwork  knew 

But  silvery  mosses  that  downward  grew ; 

Sometimes  it  was  carved  in  sharp  relief 

With  quaint  arabesques  of  ice-fern  leaf ; 

Sometimes  it  was  simply  smooth  and  clear 

For  the  gladness  of  heaven  to  shine  through,  and  here 

He  had  caught  the  nodding  bulrush-tops 

And  hung  them  thickly  with  diamond  drops. 

Which  crystalled  the  beams  of  moon  and  sun, 

And  made  a  star  of  every  one  • 

No  mortal  builder's  most  rare  device 

Could  match  this  winter-palace  of  ice; 

'Twas  as  if  every  image  that  mirrored  lay 

In  his  depths  serene  through  the  summer  day, 

Each  fleeting  shadow  of  earth  and  sky, 

Lest  the  happy  model  should  be  lost. 

Had  been  mimicked  in  fairy  masonry 

By  the  elfin  builders  of  the  frost. 

— James  Russell  Lowell 


Extracts  from  "The  Voyage  of  Life." 

"Could  I  remount  the  river  of  my  years." — Byron. 

One  sweet  spring  morn,   when  skies  were  bright, 

And  the  earth  was  green  and  gay, — 
When  fields  were  bathed  in  golden  light. 
And  feathery  mist-wreaths,  thin  and  white. 
Were  hung  on  cliff  and  mountain  height. 
Like  chaplets  twined  by  the  hand  of  Night 

To  bind  the  brow  of  Day, — 
All  playfully  along  the  wild. 
Quaffing  the  breezes  pure  and  mild, 


Miscellaneous  Readings  in  Poetry.       473 


A  thoughtless,   merry-hearted  child, 
I  took  my  careless  way ! 


Clappjpg  my  hands  in  childish  glee, 

I  ran  along  the  lakelet's  side, 
Which,  to  my  vision,  seemed  to  be 
The  margin  of  the  boundless  sea. 

When  suddenly  I  espied, 
Beneath  a  spreading  chestnut-tree 
A  light  skiff,   dancing  merrily 

Upon  the  glistening  tide. 
Shouting,  I  waked  the  echoes  round. 
And  forward  sprang,  with  one  glad  bound, 

To  reach  the  feathery  oar; 
Then,  leaping  lightly  to  the  boat, 
Feeling  my  little  bark  afloat, 

I  glided  from  the  shore. 
Which  in  the  distance  faded  fast, 
As,  skimming  along,  I  fleetly  passed, 
And  my  gallant  vessel  gayly  cast 

The  crystal  waves  aside, — 
While  the  rising  sun  which  met  my  sight. 
Beaming  aslant  o'er  the  mountain  height. 
Pencilled  before  me,   clear  and  bright, 
A  glittering  path  of  golden  light 

Along  the  trembling  tide; 
And,   closely  following  in  my  wake. 
Gleaming  above  each  billowy  flake, 
Bright  fish,  at  play 
'Mid  the  flashing  spray, 
Darted,  like  silver  shafts,  away. 

Where'er  my  paddle  plied ! 

I  floated  on  : — the  river  spread 

Wider  and  deeper  than  before. 

And  boldly  now  the  current  sped, 

While,  fast  receding  from  the  shore, 

My  agile  vessel  swiftly  flew, 

When,  lo !    uprisings  met  my  view. 

An  angry  cloud  on.  the  heavens'  bright  blue, 
M.  E.-40.  - 


474  Murdoch's  Elocution. 

And  it  hung,  like  a  pall,  with  a  sable  hue, 

The  heaving  waters  o'er, — 
While  the  lightning  glared  the  darkness  through, 

And  I  heard  the  thunder  roar! 

I  floated  on : — the  storm  came  fast. 
The  billows  leaped  in  the  furious  blast, 
And  rain,  and  hail. 
Athwart  the  gale. 

Shot  from  the  flaming  skies. 
While  hideous  shapes,   among  the  waves, 
Like  spectres  waked  from  watery  graves, 

Around  me  seemed  to  rise ! 
Weary  and  weak,  I  floated  on, 

'Mid  the  tempest's  shriek,  and  the  lightning's  flash, 
'Mid  the  rushing  waves,  and  the  thujider's  crash! — 
My  vessel  o'erwhelmed,  and  my  paddle  gone, 
I  clung  to  the  wreck,  and  I  floated  on! 


Fearless,  I  rode  the  torrent  o'er. 

Regardless  of  its  deafening  roar. 

While  boldly  on  my  brave  bark  sped, 

Leaping  the  rocks  which  lined  its  bed, 

Borne  on  the  billows,   till  at  last 

I   floated  below,  and  the  flood  was  past ! 

Past!     But,  alas!   'twas  the  river  no  more. 

With  its  bright  blue  waves  and  sylvan  shore. 

With  its  broad  green  banks  and  leafy  bowers. 

Its  warbling  birds  and  its" fragrant  flowers! — 

'Twas  the  bright,  blue,  beautiful  river  no  more, 

But  a  gloomy  gulf,   with  a  desolate  shore, 

And  barren  banks,   which  faded  away 

In  a  dreary  mist  that  over  them  lay; — 

And  wearily  now  I  labored  on, 

For  my  spirit  was  sad,   and  my  strength  was  gone ! 

Then  backward  I  gazed, 
With  enraptured  surprise, 
Where  the  sinking  sun  blazed, 
In  the  bright  western  skies,—- 


Miscellaneous  Readings  in  Poetry.       475 

Where  the  river  still  rolled, 

Stained  with  crimson  and  gold, 
While  the  mountains  and  hill-tops  were  bathed  in  its  dyes! 
And  I  turned  my  light  boat,   firmly  grasping  my  oar, 
And  resolved  to  remount  to  the  river  once  more, — 
For  I  felt  that  the  river  alone  could  restore 
The  hopes  I  had  lost  'mid  the  cataract's  roar ! 
But  I  struggled  in  vain  up  the  foaming  ascent, 
As  the  whirl  of  the  wild  waves  my  feeble  oar  bent. 
For  the  stream,  rushing  on  with  impetuous  flow, 
Still  cast  my  frail  skiff  to  the  eddies  below : — 
Then,  aweary  and  worn,  as  I  stood  in  my  bark, 
I  saw  the  sun  sink,  and  the  waters  grow  dark; — 
%ut,  afar  from  the  billows  on  which  I  was  tost, 
My  heart  wandered  back  to  the  joys  it  had  lost, — 
To  the  meadow,  the  woodland,  the  brook,  and  the  bowers. 
To  the  glittering  lakelet,   the  birds,  and  the  flowers, — 
And  lamenting  the  scenes  which  could  meet  me  no  more, 
I  fell  down  and  wept  by  that  desolate  shore ! 

Long  years  have  sullenly  worn  away. 

Since  once,  at  the  close  of  a  sweet  spring  day, 

A  gentle  child  was  seen  to  guide 

A  fragile  skiff  o'er  that  torrent's  tide. 

From  rock  to  rock,  it  tremblingly  fell. 

But  he  managed  his  little  vessel  well. 

And,  borne  on  the  billows' "  furious  flow. 

Came  safely  down  to  the  gulf  below ; — 

Then,  turning  his  boat,  he  strove  to  regain 

The  river  above,  but  he  strove  in  vain, 

And,  aweary,  he  wept  in  his  shattered  bark, 

As  the  night  came  on,  and  the  gulf  grew  dark ! 

Long  years  have  sullenly  worn  away; — 

But  ever,  as  on  that  sweet  spring  day. 

You  may  see  that  frail  skiff  floating  o'er 

The  billows  which  break  on  the  desolate  shore; — 

But  a  gray  old  man,  with  a  furrowed  brow 

And  a  trembling  hand,  guides  the  vessel  now  ; 

And  toilsomely  still  he  strives  to  regain 

The  river  above,   but  he  strives  in  vain ; 


476  Murdoch's  Elocution. 

And  his  straining  eyes  are  dimmed  with  tears, 

As  he  pines  for  the  bliss  of  his  early  years, — 

When,  over  the  river  of  childhood's  day, 

His  light  skiff  gallantly  glided  a«way, 

And,  aweary,  he  weeps  in  his  shattered  bark, 

As  the  night  comes  on,  and  the  gulf  grows  dark. 

—Francis  DeHaes  Janvier. 


New  England's  Chevy  Chase. 

'TWAS  the  dead  of  the  night.     By  the  pine-knot's  red  ligl|t 
Brooks  lay,  half  asleep,  when  he  heard  the  alarm — 
Only  this,  and  no  more,  from  a  voice  at  the  door : 
♦•  The  Red  Coats  are  out  and  have  passed  Phipps's  farm ! " 

Brooks  was  booted  and  spurred ;  he  said  never  a  word ; 
Took  his  horn  from  its  peg,  and  his  gun  from  the  rack ; 
To  the  cold  midnight  air  he  led  out  his  white  mare, 
Strapped  the  girths  and  the  bridle  and  sprang  to  her  back. 

Up  the  North  Country  Road  at  her  full  pace  she  strode. 
Till  Brooks  reined  her  up  at  John  Tarbell's  to  say : 
♦'  We  have  got  the  alarm — they  have  left  Phipps's  farm; 
You  rouse  the  East  Precinct  and  I  '11  go  this  way." 

John  called  his  hired  man,  and  they  harnessed  the  span; 
They  roused  Abram  Garfield,  and  Garfield  called  me. 
"Turn  out  right  away,  let  no  minute-man  stay — 
The  Red  Coats  have  landed  at  Phipps's  !  "  says  he. 

By  the  Powder-House  Green  seven  others  fell  in ; 

At  Nahum's  the  Men  from  the  Saw-Mill  came  down ; 

So  that  when  Jabez  Bland  gave  the  word  of  command. 

And  said,  "  Forward,  March  !  "  there  march  forward  The  Town. 

Parson  Wilderspin  stood  by  the  side  of  the  road. 
And  he  took  off  his  hat,  and  he  said,  "  Let  us  pray  ! 
O  Lord,  God  of  Might,  let  Thine  Angels  of  Light 
Lead  Thy  Children  to-night  to  the  Glories  of  Day  ! 


Miscellaneous  Readings  in  Poetry.       477 

And  let  Thy  Stars  fight  all  the  Foes  of  the  Right, 
As  the  Stars  fought  of  old  against  Sisera." 

And  from  heaven's  high  Arch  those  Stars  blessed  our  March, 

Till  the  last  of  them  faded  in  twilight  away. 

And  with  Morning's  bright  beam,  by  the  bank  of  the  stream, 

Half  the  Country  marched  in,  and  we  heard  Davis  say : 

"On  the  King's  own  Highway  I  may  travel  all  day, 

And  no  man  hath  warrant  to  stop  me,"  says  he, 

"  I  've  no  man  that 's  afraid,  and  I  '11  march  at  their  head." 

Then  he  turned  to  the  boys — "  Forward,  March !     Follow  me." 

And  we  marched  as  he  said,  and  the  Fifer,  he  played 
The  old  "  White  Cockade,"  and  he  played  it  right  well. 
We  saw  Davis  fall  dead,  but  no  man  was  afraid — 
That  Bridge  we  'd  have  had,  though  a  Thousand  Men  fell. 

This  opened  the  Play,  and  it  lasted  all  Day, 

We  made  Concord  too  hot  for  the  Red  Coats  to  stay ; 

Down  the  Lexington  Way  we  stormed — Black,  White,  and  Gray : 

We  were  first  at  the  Feast,  and  were  last  in  the  Fray. 

They  would  turn  in  dismay,  as  Red  Wolves  turn  at  bay. 
They  leveled,  they  fired,  they  charged  up  the  Road : 
Cephas  Willard  fell  dead ;  he  was  shot  in  the  head 
As  he  knelt  by  Aunt  Prudence's  well-sweep  to  load. 

John  Danforth  was  hit  just  in  Lexington  street, 
John  Bridge,  at  that  lane  where  you  cross  Beaver  Falls ; 
And  Winch  and  the  Snows  just  above  John  Munroe's — 
Swept  away  by  one  swoop  of  the  big  cannon  balls. 

I  took  Bridge  on  my  knee,  but  he  said :  "  Don't  mind  me : 

Fill  your  horn  from  mine — let  me  lie  where  I  be. 

Our  Fathers,"  says  he,  "  that  their  Sons  might  be  free, 

Left  their  King  on  his  Throne  and  came  over  the  Sea; 

And  that  man  is  a  Knave  or  a  Fool  who,  to  save 

His  life,  for  a  Minute  would  live  like  a  Slave." 

Well !   all  would  not  do.     There  were  men  good  as  new, — 
From  Rumford,  from  Saugus,  from  towns  far  away, — 
Who  filled  up  quick  and  well  for  each  soldier  that  fell, 


47^  Murdochs  Elocution, 

And  we  drove  them,  and  drove  them,  and  drove  them  all  Day. 
We  knew,  every  one,  it  was  War  that  begun 
When  that  morning's  marching  was  only  half-done. 

In  the  hazy  twilight  at  the  coming  of  Night, 
I  crowded  three  buck-shot  and  one  bullet  down, 
'Twas  my  last  charge  of  lead,  and  I  aimed  her  and  said: 
"Good  luck  to  you,  Lobsters,  in  old  Boston  Town." 

In  a  barn  at  Milk  Row,  Ephraim  Bates  and  Thpreau, 
And  Baker  and  Abram  and  I  made  a  bed ; 
We  had  mighty  sore  feet,  and  we  'd  nothing  to  eat. 
But  we  'd  driven  the  Red  Coats,  and  Amos,  he  said : 
•*  It's  the  first  time,"  says  he,  "that  it's  happened  to  me 
To  march  to  the  sea  by  this  road  where  we  've  come; 
But  confound  this  whole  day  but  we  'd  all  of  us  say. 
We'd  rather  have  spent  it  this  way  than  to  home." 


The  hunt  had  begun  with  the  dawn  of  the  sun, 
And  night  saw  the  Wolf  driven  back  to  his  Den. 
And  never  since  then,  in  the  memory  of  Men, 
Has  the  old  Bay  State  seen  such  a  hunting  again. 

— Edward  Everett  Hale, 


Song  of  the  Greek  Bard. 

The  isles  of  Greece,   the  isles  of  Greece! 

Where  burning  Sappho  loved  and  sung, 
Where  grew  the  arts  of  war  and  peace, — 

Where  Delos  rose,  and  Phoebus  sprung! 
Eternal  summer  gilds  them  yet, 
But  all,  except  their  sun,   is  set. 

The  Scian  and  the  Teian  muse. 
The  hero's  harp,  the  lover's  lute, 

Have  found  the  fame  your  shores  refuse; 
Their  place  of  birth  alone  is  mute 


Miscellaneous  Readings  in  Poetry.       479 

To  sounds  which  echo  further  west 
Than  your  sires'   "Islands  of  the  Blest." 

The  mountains  look  on  Marathon — 

And  Marathon  looks  on   the  sea ; 
And  musing  there  an  hour  alone, 

I  dream'd  that  Greece  might  still  be  free; 
For  standing  on  the  Persians'  grave, 
I  could  not  deem  myself  a  slave. 

A  king  sat  on  the  rocky  brow 

Which  looks  o'er  sea-born  Salamis ; 
And  ships,  by  thousands,  lay  below, 

And  men  in  nations; — all  were  his! 
He  counted  them  at  break  of  day — 
And  when  the  sun  set  where  were  they? 

And  where  are  they?     And  where  art  thou, 

My  country?     On  thy  voiceless  shore 
The  heroic  lay  is  tuneless  now — 

The  heroic  bosom  beats  no  more! 
And  must  thy  lyre,  so  long  divine, 
Degenerate  into  hands  like  mine  ? 

Must  we  but  weep  o'er  days  more  blest? 

Must  we  but  blush  ?     Our  fathers  bled. 
Earth !    render  back  from  out  thy  breast   . 

A  remnant  of  our  Spartan  dead ! 
Of  the  three  hundred  grant  but  three, 
To  make  a  new  Thermopylae ! 

What,  silent  still  ?    and  silent  all  ? 

Ah  !  no ; — the  voices  of  the  dead 
Sound  like  a  distant  torrent's  fall. 

And  answer,  "Let  one  living  head, 
But  one,  arise, — we  come,  we  come !  " 
'Tis  but  the  living  who  are  dumb. 

In  vain — in  vain ; — strike  other  chords ; 
Fill  high  the  cup  with  Samian  wine! 


480  Murdoch' s  Elocution, 

Leave  battles  to  the  Turkish  hordes, 
And  shed  the  blood  of  Scio's  vine! 
Hark !   rising  to  the  ignoble  call — 
How  answers  each  bold  Bacchanal  ! 

You  have  the  Pyrrhic  dance  as  yet, 
Where  is  the  Pyrrhic  phalanx  gone? 

Of  two  such  lessons,  why  forget 
The  nobler  and  the  manlier  one? 

You  have  the  letters  Cadmus  gave — 

Think  ye  he  meant  them  for  a  slave? 

Fill  high  the  bowl  with  Samian  wine! 

We  will  not  think  of  themes  like  these ! 
It  made  Anacreon's  song  divine : 

He  served — but  served  Polycrates — 
A  tyrant;  but  our  masters  then 
Were  still,  at  least,  our  countrymen. 

The  tyrant  of  the  Chersonese 

Was  freedom's  best  and  bravest  friend; 

That  tyrant  was  Miltiades! 

Oh  that  the  present  hour  would  lend 

Another  despot  of  the  kind ! 

Such  chains  as  his  were  sure  to  bind. 

Fill  high  the  bowl  with  Samian  wine! 

Our  virgins  dance  beneath  the  shade — 
I  see  their  glorious  black  eyes  shine; 

But  gazing  on  each  glowing  maid, 
My  own  the  burning  tear-drop  laves. 
To  think  such  breasts  must  suckle  slaves. 

Place  me  on  Sunium's  marbled  steep, 
Where  nothing,  save  the  waves  and  I, 

May  hear  our  mutual  murmurs  sweep ; 
There,  swan-like,  let  me  sing  and  die: 

A  land  of  slaves  shall  ne'er  be  mine — 

Dash  down  yon  cup  of  Samian  wine 


— Byron, 


Miscellaneous  Readings  in  Poetry.       481 


The  Destruction  of  Sennacherib. 

The  Assyrian  came  down  like  the  wolf  on  the  fold, 
And  his  cohorts  were  gleaming  in  purple  and  gold ; 
And  the  sheen  of  their  spears  was  like  stars  on  the  sea, 
When  the  blue  wave  rolls  nightly  on  deep  Galilee. 

Like  the  leaves  of  the  forest  when  Summer  is  green, 
That  host  with  their  banners  at  sunset  were  seen; 
Like  the  leaves  of  the  forest  when  Autumn  hath  blown. 
That  host  on   the  morrow  lay  wither'd  and  strown. 

For  the  Angel  of  Death  spread  his  wings  on  the  blast, 
And  breathed  in  the  face  of  the  foe  as  he  pass'd ; 
And  the  eyes  of  the  sleepers  wax'd  deadly  and  chill, 
And  their  hearts  but  once  heav'd,  and  forever  grew  still  ! 

And  there  lay  the  steed  with  his  nostril  all  wide, 
But  through  it  there  roll'd  not  the  breath  of  his  pride: 
And  the  foam  of  his  gasping  lay  white  on  the  turf. 
And  cold  as  the  spray  of  the  rock-beating  surf. 

And  there  lay  the  rider  distorted  and  pale, 
With  the  dew  on  his  brow  and  the  rust  on  his  mail; 
And  the  tents  were  all  silent,  the  banners  alone, 
The  lances  unlifted,   the  trumpet  unblown. 

And  the  widows  of  Ashur  are  loud  in  their  wail, 
And  the  idols  are  broke  in  the  temple  of  Baal; 
And  the  might  of  the  Gentile,  unsmote  by  the  sword, 
Hath  melted  like  snow  in  the  glance  of  the  Lord! 

— Byron. 


Sandalphon. 


Have  you  read  in  the  Talmud  of  old. 
In  the  Legends  the  Rabbins  have  told 
Of  the  limitless  realms  of  the  air, — 
Have  you  read  it, — the  marvellous  story 
Of  Sandalphon,  the  Angel  of  Glory, 
Sandalphon,  the  Angel  of  Prayer  ? 
M.  E.—  41. 


482  Murdoch's  Elocution. 

How,  erect,  at  the  outermost  gates 
Of  the  City  Celestial  he  waits. 

With  his  feet  on  the  ladder  of  light, 
That,  crowded  with  angels  unnumbered, 
By  Jacob  was  seen,  as  he  slumbered 

Alone  in  the  desert  at  night  ? 

The  Angels  of  Wind  and  of  Fire 
Chaunt  only  one  hymn,   and  expire 

With  the  song's  irresistible  stress; 
Expire  in  their  rapture  and  wonder. 
As  harp-strings  are  broken  asunder 

By  music  they  throb  to  express. 

But  serene  in  the  rapturous  throng. 
Unmoved  by  the  rush  of  the  song. 

With  eyes  unimpassioned  and  slow, 
Among  the  dead  angels,  the  deathless 
Sandalphon  stands  listening  breathless 

To  sounds  that  ascend  from  below; — 

From  the  spirits  on  earth  that  adore, 
From  the  souls  that  entreat  and  implore 

In  the  fervor  and  passion  of  prayer; 
From  the  hearts  that  are  broken  with  losses, 
And  weary  with  dragging  the  crosses 

Too  heavy  for  mortals  to  bear. 

And  he  gathers  the  prayers  as  he  stands, 
And  they  change  into  flowers  in  his  hands. 

Into  garlands  of  purple  and  red; 
And  beneath  the  great  arch  of  the  portal, 
Through  the  streets  of  the  City  Immortal 

Is  wafted  the  fragrance  they  shed. 

It  is  but  a  legend,   I  know, — 
A  fable,  a  phantom,  a  show. 

Of  the  ancient  Rabbinical  lore; 
Yet  the  old  mediaeval  tradition, 
The  beautiful,  strange  superstition, 

But  haunts  me  and  holds  me  the  more. 


Mtscellaneo7^s  Readings  in  Poetry.       483 

When  I  look  from  my  windoM'  at  night, 
And  the  welkin  above  is  all  white, 

All  throbbing  and  panting  with  stars, 
.     Among  them  majestic  is  standing 
Sandalphon  the  angel,  expanding 

His  pinions  in  nebulous  bars. 

And  the  legend,  1  feel,  is  a  part 

Of  the  hunger  and  thirst  of  the  heart, 

The  frenzy  and   fire  of  the  brain. 
That  grasps  at  the  fruitage  forbidden. 
The  golden  pomegranates  of  Eden, 

To  quiet  its  fever  and  pain. 

— Longfellow. 


The  Ride  of  Collins  Graves. 

An  incident  of  the  flood  in  Massachusetts,  on  May  16,  1874. 

No  song  of  a  soldier  riding  down 

To  the  raging  fight  from  Winchester  town; 

No  song  of  a  time  that  shook  the  earth 

With  the   nations'  throe  at  a  nation's  birth ; 

But  the  song  of  a  brave  man,   free  from  fear 

As  Sheridan's  self  or  Paul  Revere ; 

Who  risked  what  they  risked,  free  from  strife, 

And  its  promise  of  glorious  pay — his  life ! 

The  peaceful  valley  has  waked  and  stirred. 
And  the  answering  echoes  of  life  are  heard: 
The  dew  still  clings  to  the  trees  and  grass. 
And  the  early  toilers  smiling  pass. 
As  they  glance  aside  at  the  white-walled  homes, 
Or  up  the  valley,   where  merrily  comes 
The  brook  that  sparkles  in  diamond  rills 
As  the  sun  comes  over  the  Hampshire  hills. 

What  was  it,  that  passed  like  an  ominous  breath- 
Like  a  shiver  of  fear,   or  a  touch  of  death  ? 


484  Murdoch' s  Elocution, 

What  was  it?    The  valley  is  peaceful  still, 
And  the  leaves  are  afire  on  top  of  the  hill. 
It  was  not  a  sound — nor  a  thing  of  sense — 
But  a  pain,  like  the  pang  of  the  short  suspense 
That  thrills  the  being  of  those  who  see 
At  their  feet  the  gulf  of  Eternity ! 

The  air  of  the  valley  has  felt  the  chill : 
The  workers  pause  at  the  door  of  the  mill ; 
The  housewife,  keen  to  the  shivering  air, 
Arrests  her  foot  on  the  cottage  stair, 
Instinctive  taught  by  the  mother  love. 
And  thinks  of  the  sleeping  ones  above. 
Why  start  the  listeners?     Why  does  the  course 
Of  the  mill-stream  widen?     Is  it  a  horse — 
•    Hark  to  the  sound  of  his  hoofs,  they  say — 
That  gallops  so  wildly  Williamsburg  way ! 

God!  what  was  that,  like  a  human  shriek 
From  the  winding  valley?     Will  nobody  speak? 
Will  nobody  answer  those  women  who  cry 
As  the  awful  warnings  thunder  by? 

Whence  come  they  ?     Listen !     And  now  they  hear 

The  sound  of  the  galloping  horse-hoofs  near ; 

They  watch  the  trend  of  the  vale,  and  see 

The  rider  who  thunders  so  menacingly, 

W^ith  waving  arms  and  warning  scream 

To  the  home-filled  banks  of  the  valley  stream. 

He  draws  no  rein,  but  he  shakes  the  street 

With  a  shout  and  the  ring  of  the  galloping  feet ; 

And  this  the  cry  he  flings  to  the  wind :  ^ 

"To  the  hills  for  your  lives!     The  flood  is  behind!" 

He  cries  and  is  gone;  but  they  know  the  worst — 

The  breast  of  the  Williamsburg  dam  has  burst !  j 

The  basin  that  nourished  their  happy  homes  J 

Is  changed  to  a  demon — It  comes!   it  comes!  I 

A  monster  in  aspect,  with  shaggy  front 

Of  shattered  dwellings,  to  take  the  brunt 

Of  the  homes  they  shatter — white  maned  and  hoarse, 


Miscellaneous  Readings  in  Poetry.       485 

The  merciless  Terror  fills  the  course 
Of  the  narrow  valley,  and  rushing  raves, 
With  Death  on  the  first  of  its  hissing  waves, 
Till  cottage  and  street  and  crowded  mill 
Are  crumbled  and  crushed. 

But  onward  still, 
In  front  of  the  roaring  flood  is  heard 
The  galloping  horse  and  the  warning  word. 
Thank  God !   the  brave  man's  life  is  spared ! 
From  Williamsburg  town  he  nobly  dared 
To  race  with  the  flood  and  take  the  road 
In  front  of  the  terrible  swath  it  mowed. 
For  miles  it  thundered  and  crashed  behind. 
But  he  looked  ahead  with  a  steadfast  mind ; 
"They  must  be  warned!"  was  all  he  said, 
As  away  on  his  terrible  ride  he  sped. 

When  heroes  are  called  for,  bring  the  crown 
To  this  Yankee  rider;  send  him  down 
On  the  stream  of  time  with  the  Curtius  old ; 
His  deed  as  the  Roman's  was  brave  and  bold, 
And  the  tale  can  as  noble  a  thrill  awake. 
For  he  offered  his  life  for  the  people's  sake. 

— John  Boyle  O'Reilly. 


P/RAPHRASE  OF  ShAKESPEARE'S  CrABBED  AgE  AND  YoUTH. 

Out,  out,  Old  Age!  aroint  ye! 
I  fain  would  disappoint  ye, 
Nor  wrinkled  grow  and  learned 
Before  I  am  inurned. 
Ruthless  the  hours,  and  hoary, 
That  scatter  ills  before  ye ! 
Thy  touch  is  pestilential. 
Thy  lays  are  penitential; 


486  MurdocJis  Elocution. 

With  stealthy  steps  thou  stealest, 
And  life's  warm  tide  congealest; 
Before  thee  vainly  flying, 
We  are  already  dying. 
Why  must  the  blood  grow  colder, 
And  men  and  maidens  older? 
Bring  not  thy  maledictions, 
Thy  grewsome,  grim,  afflictions, 
Thy  bodings  bring  not  hither. 
To  make  us  blight  and  wither ; 
When  this  thy  frost  hath  bound  us. 
All  fairest  things  around  us 
Seem  Youth's  divine  extortion. 
In  which  we  have  no  portion. 
"Fie,  Senex  !  "  saith  a  lass  now, 
"What  need  ye  of  a  glass,  now? 
Though  flower  of  May  be  springing. 
And  I  my  songs  am  singing. 
Thy  blood  no  whit  the  faster 
Doth  flow,  my  ancient  master !  " 
Age  is  by  Youth  delighted. 
Youth  is  by  Age  aff'righted ; 
Blithe,   sunny  May  and  joysome, 
Still  finds  December  noisome. 
Alack !   a  guest  unbidden, 
Howe'er  our  feast  be  hidden, 
Doth  enter  with  the  feaster, 
And  make  a  Lent  of  Easter ! 
I  would  thou  wert  not  able 
To  seat  thee  at  our  table; 
I  would  that  altogether. 
From  this  thy  wintry  weather. 
Since  Youth  and  Love  must  leave  us, 
Death  might  at  once  retrieve  us. 
Old  wizard,  ill  betide  ye ! 
I  can  not  yet  abide  ye  I 

Ah,  Youth,   sweet  Youth,  I  love  ye ! 
There's  naught  on  earth  above  ye! 
Thou  purling  bird  uncaged, 
That  never  wilt  grow  aged, — 


Miscellaneous  Readings  in  Poetry.       487 

To  whom  each  day  is  giving 

Increase  of  joyous  living ! 

Soft  words  to  thee  are  spoken, 

For  thee  strong  vows  are  broken ; 

All  loves  and  lovers  cluster 

To  bask  them  in  thy  lustre. 

Ah,  girlhood,   pout  and  dimple, 

Half-hid  beneath  the  wimple ! 

Ah,  boyhood,   blithe  and  cruel. 

Whose  heat  doth  need  no  fuel. 

No  help  of  wine  and  spices, 

And  frigid  Eld's  devices! 

All  pleasant  things  ye  find  ye, 

And  to  your  sweet  selves  bind  ye. 

For  ye  alone  the  motion 

Of  brave  ships  on  the  ocean ; 

All  stars  for  ye  are  shining. 

All  wreaths  your  foreheads  twining; 

All  joys,  your  joys  decreeing. 

Are  portions  of  your  being. — 

All  fairest  sights  your  features, 

Ye  selfish,  soulful  creatures! 

Sing  me  no  more  distiches 

Of  glory,   wisdom,   riches; 

Tell  me  no  beldame's  story 

Of  wisdom,   wealth,  and  glory  ! 

To  Youth  these  are  a  wonder  : 

To  Age,  a  corpse-light  under 

The  tomb  with  rusted  portal 

Of  that  which  seemed  immortal. 

I,   too,  in  youth's  dear  fetter. 

Will  love  my  foeman  better, — 

Aye,   though  his  ill  I  study, — 

So  he  be  young  and  ruddy. 

Than  comrade  true  and  golden. 

So  he  be  waxen  olden. 

Ah,  winsome  Youth,  stay  by  us : 

I  prithee,  do  not  fly  us ! 

Ah,  Youth,  sweet  Youth,  I  love  ye! 

There 's  naught  on  earth  above  ye ! 


488  Murdoch's  Elocution. 


Antony  and  Cleopatra. 

I  AM  dying,  Egypt,  dying, 
Ebbs  the  crimson  life-tide  fast. 
And  the  dark  Plutonian  shadows 
Gather  on  the  evening  blast; 
Let  thine  arm,   oh  Queen,  enfold  me. 
Hush  thy  sobs  and  bow  thine  ear, 
Listen  to  the  great  heart  secrets 
Thou,  and  thou  alone,  must  hear. 

Though  my  scarred  and  veteran  legions 

Bear  their  eagles  high  no  more. 

And  my  wrecked  and  scattered  galleys 

Strew  dark  Actium's  fatal  shore ; 

Though  no  glittering  guards  surround  me. 

Prompt  to  do  their  master's  will, 

I  must  perish  like  a  Roman, 

Die  the  great  Triumvir  still. 

Let  not  Caesar's  servile  minions 
Mock  the  lion  thus  laid  low; 
'Twas  no  foeman's  arm  that  felled  him, 
'Twas  his  own  that  struck  the  blow— 
His  who,  pillowed  on  thy  bosom, 
Turned  aside  from  glory's  ray — 
His  who,  drunk  with  thy  caresses, 
Madly  threw  a  world  away. 

Should  the  base  plebeian   rabble 
Dare  assail  my  name  at  Rome, 
Where  the  noble  spouse,  Octavia, 
Weeps  within  her  widowed  home. 
Seek  her;  say  the  gods  bear  witness,. 
Altars,   augurs,   circling  wings, 
That  her  blood,  with  mine  commingled, 
Yet  shall  mount  the  thrones  of  kings. 

And  for  thee,  star-eyed  Egyptian ! 
Glorious  sorceress  of  the  Nile, 
Light  the  path  to  Stygian  horrors 


Miscellaneous  Readings  in  Poetry,       489 

With  the  splendors  of  thy  smile; 
Give  the  Caesar  crowns  and  arches, 
Let  his  brow  the  laurel  twine, 
I  can  scorn  the  senate's  triumphs, 
Triumphing  in  love  like  thine. 

I  am  dying,  Egypt,  dying; 
Hark !   the  insulting  foeman's  cry. 
They  are  coming;  quick,   my  falchion, 
Let  me  front  them  ere  I  die. 
Ah,  no  more  amid  the  battle 
Shall  my  heart  exulting  swell, 
Isis  and  Osiris  guard  thee, 
Cleopatra,   Rome,   farewell ! 

— Wm.  H.  Lytle. 


Thomas  Buchanan  Read. 

Tic   following    poem  was  suggested    by  a  visit  to  the  tomb  of  Mr.   Read    at 
Lau  el  Hill,  Philadelphia. 

I  STAND  within  a  garden,  where  the  fairest  flowers  bloom. 
And  art  and  nature  harmonize,  in  beauty  and  perfume ; 
But,  on  this  mound,  a  sepulchre  its  granite  tribute  rears, 
And  here  I  lay  a  garland,  wet  with  many  loving  tears. 

I  mourn  for  one  whose  mind  was  like  a  many-sided  gem, 
Effulgent  with  prismatic  rays, — a  regal  diadem  : 
A  friend,  whose  kindly  influence  was  like  the  golden  light, 
Which,  at  its  dawning,  dissipates  the  shadows  of  the  night. 

A  poet,  gifted  to  evoke  weird  music  from  his  lyre ; 
To  fill  the  hearts  of  listening  throngs  with  patriotic  fire ; 
To  draw  the  aged  and  the  young,  enchanted,  to  his  feet, 
Inspiring  faith,  and  hope,  and  love,  in  accents  soft  and  sweet. 

A  poet-artist,  by  whose  touch,  as  on  a  mirror  thrown, 
Imagination's  fairest  forms,  in  living  lines  were  shown : — 
Whose  pictures  were  all  poems,  full  of  fancy,  grace  and  thought;, 
Whose  poems  were  all  pictures,  with  immortal  beauty  wrought.. 

1=— Francis  DeHae?  Janvier.. 


490  Murdocli  s  Elocution, 

Song  from  ''The  Wild  Wagoner  of  the  Alleghanies. 

I. 

Where  sweeps  round  the  mountains 

The  clQud  on  the  gale, 
And  streams  from  their  fountains 

Leap  into  the  vale, — 
Like  frighted  deer  leap  when 

The  storm  with  his  pack 
Rides  over  the  steep  in 
The  wild  torrent's  track, — 
Even  there  my  free  home  is; 

There  watch  I  the  flocks 
Wander  white  as  the  foam  is 

On  stairways  of  rocks. 
Secure  in  the  gorge  there 

In  freedom  we  sing, 
And  laugh  at  King  George,  where 
The  Eagle  is  king. 


II. 


I  mount  the  wild  horse  with 

No  saddle  or  rein, 
And  guide  his  swift  course  with 

A  grasp  on  his  mane ; 
Through  paths  steep  and  narrow, 

And  scorning  the  crag, 
I  chase  with  my  arrow 

The  flight  of  the  stag. 
Through  snow-drifts  engulfing, 

I  follow  the  bear, 
And  face  the  gaunt  wolf  when 

He  snarls  in  his  lair, 
And  watch  through  the  gorge  there 

The  red  panther  spring, 
And  laugh  at  King  George,   where 

The  Eagle  is  king, 


Miscellaneous  Readings  in  Poetry.       491 


III. 


When  April  is  sounding 

His  horn  o'er  the  hills, 
And  brooklets  are  bounding 

In  joy  to  the  mills, — 
When  warm  August  slumbers 

Among  her  green  leaves. 
And  harvest  encumbers 

Her  garners  with  sheaves, — 
When   the  flail  of  November 

Is  swinging  with  might. 
And  the  miller  December 

Is  mantled  with  white, — 
In  field  and  in  forge  there 

The  free-hearted  sing, 
And  laugh  at  King  George,   where 

The  Eagle  is  king. 

— T.  Buchanan  Read. 


Dying  in  Harness. 


Only  a  fallen  horse,  stretched  out  there  on  the  road, 
Stretched  in  the  broken  shafts,  and  crushed  by  the  heavy  load; 
Only  a  fallen  horse,  and  a  circle  of  wondering  eyes 
Watching  the  'frighted  teamster  goading  the  beast  to  rise. 

Hold  !   for  his  toil  is  over — no  more  labor  for  him  ; 

See  the  poor  neck  outstretched,  and  the  patient  eyes  grow  dim ; 

See  on  the  friendly  stones  how  peacefully  rests  the  head — 

Thinking,  if  dumb  beasts  think,  how  good  it  is  to  be  dead; 

After  the  weary  journey,  how  restful  it  is  to  lie 

With  the  broken  shafts  and  the  cruel  load — waiting  only  to  die. 

Watchers,  he  died  in  harness — died  in  the  shafts  and  straps — 
Fell,  and  the  burden  killed  him  :  one  of  the  day's  mishaps — 
One  of  the  passing  wonders  marking  the  city  road — 
A  toiler  dying  in  harness,  heedless  of  call  or  goad. 


492  Murdoch's  Elocution, 

Passers,  crowding  the  pathway,  staying  your  steps  awhile, 
What  is  the  symbol  ?     Only  death — why  should  we  cease  to  smile 
At  death  for  a  beast  of  burden  ?     On,  through  the  busy  street 
That  is  ever  and  ever  echoing  the  tread  of  the  hurrying  feet. 

What  was  the  sign  ?     A  symbol  to  touch  the  tireless  will  ? 
Does  He  who  taught  in  parables  speak  in  parables  still  ? 
The  seed  on  the  rock  is  wasted — on  heedless  hearts  of  men. 
That  gather  and  sow  and  grasp  and  lose — labor  and  sleep — and  then- 
Then  for  the  prize ! — a  crowd  in  the  street  of  ever-echoing  tread — 
The  toiler,  crushed  by  the  heavy  load,  is  there  in  his  harness — 
dead! 

— John  Boyle  O'Reilly. 


Mary  of  Castle  Gary. 

Saw  ye  my  wee  thing?  saw  ye  my  ain  thing? 
Saw  ye  my  true-love  down  by  yon  lea? 
Crossed  she  the  meadow,  yestreen,  at  the  gloaming? 
Sought  she  the  burnie,  where  flowers  the  haw-tree  ? 

Her  hair  it  is  lint-white;  her  skin  it  is  milk-white; 
Dark  is  the  blue  o'  her  saft-rolling  ee! 
Red,  red  her  ripe  lips,  and  sweeter  than  roses; 
Where  could  my  wee  thing  wander  frae  me?" 

I  sawna  your  wee  thing ;  I  sawna  your  ain  thing ; 
Nor  saw  I  your  true-love  down  by  yon  lea  ; 
But  I  met  my  bonnie  thing  late  in  the  gloaming, 
Down  by  the  burnie  where  flowers  the  haw-tree. 

'Her  hair  it  was  lint-white;  her  skin  it  was  milk-white; 
Dark  was  the  blue  o'  her  saft-rolling  ee! 
Red  were  her  ripe  lips,  and  sweeter  than  roses; 
Sweet  were  the  kisses  that  she  gae  to  me." 

It  wasna  my  wee  thing;  it  wasna  mine  ain  thing; 
Is  wasna  my  true-love  ye  met  by  the  tree ;, 
Proud  is  her  leal  heart,  and  modest  her  nature; 
.She  never  lo'ed  ony  till  ance  she  lo'ed  me. 


I 


Miscellaneous  Readings  in  Poetry.       493 

"Her  name  it  is  Mary;  she's  frae  Castle  Gary, 
Aft  has  she  sat  when  a  bairn  on  my  knee ; 
Fair  as  your  face  is,  were't  fifty  times  fairer, 
Young  braggar,  she  ne'er  wa'd  gie  kisses  to  thee." 

"It  was  then  your  Mary;  she's  frae  Castle  Gary; 
It  was  then  your  true-love  I  met  by  the  tree; 
Proud  as  her  heart  is,  and  modest  her  nature, 
Sweet  were  the  kisses  that  she  gae  to  me." 

Sair  gloomed  his  dark  brow ;  blood  red  his  cheek  grew ; 
Wild  flashed  the  fire  frae  his  red-rolling  ee ! 
"Ye's  rue  sair  this  morning  your  boasting  and  scorning, 
Defend  ye,  fause  traitor,  fu'  loudly  ye  lie!" 

"Awa  wi'  beguiling,"  cried  the  youth  smiling; 
Aff  gade  the  bonnet,  the  lint-white  locks  flee; 
The  belted  plaid  fa'ing,  her  white  bosom  sha'ing, 
Fair  stood  the  loved  maid  wi'  the  dark-rolling  ee! 

**Is  it  my  wee  thing?  is  it  mine  ain  thing? 
Is  it  my  true-love  here  that  I  see  ? " 
"0,  Jamie,  forgie  me!   your  heart's  constant  to  me — 
I  '11  never  mair  wander,  dear  laddie,  frae  thee." 

— Hector  Macneil. 


The  Spinning-Wheel  Song* 

Mellow  the  moonlight  to  shine  is  beginning; 

Glose  by  the  window  young  Eileen  is  spinning ; 

Bent  o'er  the  fire,  her  blind  grandmother,   sitting, 

Is  croaning,   and  moaning,  and  drowsily  knitting — 

"Eileen,  achora,  I  hear  some  one  tapping." 

"'Tis  the  ivy,   dear  mother,   against  the  glass  flapping." 

"Eileen,  I  surely  hear  somebody  sighing." 

"'Tis  the  sound,  mother  dear,  of  the  summer  wind  dying. 

Merrily,   cheerily,  noisily  whirring. 

Swings  the  wheel,  spins  the  reel,  while  the  foot's  stirring; 

Sprightly,  and  lightly,   and  airi4y  ringing, 

Thrills  the  sweet  voice  of  the  young  maiden  singing. 


494  Murdoch's  Elocution. 

"What's  that  noise  that  I  hear  at  the  window,  I  wonder?" 

•*'Tis  the  little  birds  chirping  the  holly-bush  under." 

<*What  makes  you  be  shoving  and  moving  your  stool  on, 

And  singing  all  wrong  that  old  song  of  'The  Coolun?'" 

There  's  a  form  at  the  casement — the  form  of  her  true  love — 

And  he  whispers,  with  face  bent,  "I'm  waiting  for  you,  love 

Get  up  on  the  stool,  through  the  lattice  step  lightly. 

We'll  rove  in  the  grove  while    the    moon's  shining   brightly.' 

Merrily,  cheerily,  noisily  whirring. 

Swings  the  wheel,  spins  the  reel,   while  the  foot 's  stirring ; 

Sprightly,  and  lightly,  and  airily  ringing, 

Thrills  the  sweet  voice  of  the  young  maiden  singing. 

The  maid  shakes  her  head,  on  her  lip  lays  her  fingers, 

Steals  up  from  her  seat— longs  to  go,  and  yet  lingers; 

A  frightened  glance  turns  to  her  drowsy  grandmother, 

Puts  one  foot  on  the  stool,  spins  the  wheel  with  the  other. 

Lazily,  easily,  swings  now  the  wheel  round ; 

Slowly  and  lowly  is  heard  now  the  reel's  sound  ; 

Noiseless  and  light  to  the  lattice  above  her 

The  maid  steps — then  leaps  to  the  arms  of  her  lover. 

Slower — and  slower — and  slower  the  wheel  swings; 

Lower — and  lower — and  lower  the  reel  rings  ; 

Ere  the  reel  and  the  wheel  stop  their  ringing  and  moving, 

Through  the  grove  the  young  lovers  by  moonlight  are  roving. 

— John  Francis  Waller. 


Catawba  Wine. 

This  song  of  mine 
Is  a  song  of  the  Vine, 

To  be  sung  by  the  glowing  embers 
Of  wayside  inns. 
When  the  rain  begins 

To  darken  the  drear  Novembers. 


I 


Miscellaneous  Readings  in  Poetry.       495 

It  is  not  a  song 

Of  the  Scuppernong, 
From  warm  Carolinian  valleys, 

Nor  the  Isabel 

And  the  Muscadel 
That  bask  in  our  garden  alleys. 

Nor  the  red  Mustang, 

Whose  clusters  hang 
O'er  the  waves  of  the  Colorado, 

And  the  fiery  flood 

Of  whose  purple  blood 
Has  a  dash  of  Spanish  bravado. 

For  richest  and  best 

Is  the  wine  of  the  West, 
That  grows  by  the  Beautiful  River; 

Whose  sweet  perfume 

Fills  all  the  room 
With  a  benison  on  the  giver. 

And  as  hollow  trees 

Are  the  haunts  of  bees, 
Forever  going  and  coming ; 

So  this  crystal  hive 

Is  all  alive 
With  a  swarming  and  buzzing  and  humming. 

Very  good  in  its  way 

Is  the  Verzenay, 
Or  the  Sillery  soft  and  creamy ; 

But  Catawba  wine 

Has  a  taste  more  divine, 
More  dulcet,  delicious,  and  dreamy. 

There  grows  no  vine 

By  the  haunted  Rhine, 
By  Danube  or  Guadalquiver, 

Nor  on  island  or  cape, 

That  bears  such  a  grape 
As  grows  by  the  Beautiful   River. 


49^  Murdoch! s  Elocution. 

Drugged  is  their  juice 

For  foreign  use, 
When  shipped  o'er  the  reeling  Atlantic, 

To  rack  our  brains 

With  the  fever  pains, 
That  have  driven  the  Old  World  frantic. 

To  the  sewers  and  sinks 

With  all  such  drinks, 
And  after  them  tumble  the  mixer; 

For  a  poison  malign 

Is  such  Borgia  wine, 
Or  at  best  but  a  Devil's  Elixir. 

While  pure  as  a  spring 

Is  the  wine  I  sing. 
And  to  praise  it,  one  needs  but  name  it; 
'  For  Catawba  wine 

Has  need  of  no  sign, 
No  tavern-bush  to  proclaim  it. 

And  this  Song  of  the  Vine, 

This  greeting  of  mine. 
The  winds  and  the  birds  shall  deliver 

To  the  Queen  of  the  West, 

In  her  garlands  dressed. 
On  the  banks  of  the  Beautiful  River. 

— Longfellow. 


The  King  of  Yvetot. 

There  reigned  a  king  in  Yvetot, 

But  little  known  in  story. 

Who,  stranger  all  to  grief  and  woe. 

Slept  soundly  without  glory. 

His  night-cap  tied  by  Jenny's  care 

(The  only  crown  this  king  would  wear,) 

He  'd  snooze ! 
Ha,  ha,  ha !     Ho,  ho,  ho ! 
The  merry  monarch  of  Yvetot. 


I 


Miscellaneous  Readings  in  Poetry.       49; 

His  jolly  court  he  held  each  day, 
'Neath  humble  roof  of  rushes  green, 
And  on  a  donkey  riding  gay 
Through  all  his  kingdom  might  be  seen, 
A  happy  soul ;  and  thinking  well, 
His  only  guard  was — sooth  to  tell — 

His  dog. 
Ha,  ha,  ha  !     Ho,  ho,  ho ! 
The  merry  monarch  of  Yvetot. 

No  harsh  exacting  lord  was  he. 

To  grasp  more  than  his  folks  could  give, 

But  mild  howe'er  a  king  may  be, 

His  Majesty  you  know,  must  live; 

And  no  man  e'er  a  bumper  fill'd. 

Until  the  jovial  prince  had  swill'd 

His  share. 
Ha,  ha,  ha!     Ho,  ho,  ho! 
The  merry  monarch  of  Yvetot. 

He  ne'er  sought  to  enlarge  his  States; 

But  was  a  neighbor  just  and  kind. 

A  pattern  to  all  potentates, 

Would  they  his  bright  example  mind. 

The  only  tears  he  ever  caused  to  fall, 

Was  when  he  died — which  you  can't  call 

His  fault. 
Ha,  ha,  ha!     Ho,  ho,  ho! 
The  merry  monarch  of  Yvetot. 

— Beranger. 


Nearer,  My  God,  to  Thee. 

Nearer,  my  God,  to  Thee, 

Nearer  to  Thee ! 
E'en  though  it  be  a  cross 

That  raiseth  me ; 

Still  all  my  song  shall  be, — 

Nearer,  my  God,   to  Thee, 

Nearer  to  Thee! 
M.  E.— 42. 


498  Mtu'doch's  Elocution. 

Though,  like  the  wanderer, 
The  sun  gone  down. 

Darkness  be  over  me, 
My  rest  a  stone; 

Yet  in  my  dreams  I  'd  be 

Nearer,  my  God,  to  Thee, — 
Nearer  to  Thee ! 

There  let  the  way  appear. 
Steps  unto  heaven ; 

All  that  Thou  sendest  me. 
In  mercy  given ; 

Angels  to  beckon  me 

Nearer,  my  God,  to  Thee, — 
Nearer  to  Thee! 

Then  with  my  waking  thoughts, 
Bright  with  Thy  praise, 

Out  of  my  stony  griefs. 
Bethel  I  '11  raise  ; 

So  by  my  woes  to  be 

Nearer,  my  God,  to  Thee', — 
Nearer  to  Thee! 

Or  if  on  joyful  wing, 
Cleaving  the  sky. 

Sun,  moon,  and  stars  forgot, 
Upward  I  fly; 

Still  all  my  song  shall  be, — 

Nearer,  my  God,  to  Thee, 
Nearer  to  Thee. 


— Sarah  F.  Adams. 


A  Hymn. 

When  all  thy  mercies,  O  my  God, 
My  rising  soul  surveys, 
Transported  with  the  view,   I'm  lost 
In  wonder,   love,  and  praise. 


Miscellaneous  Readings  in  Poetry.       499 

O  how  shall  words  with  equal  warmth, 
The  gratitude  declare, 
That  glows  within  my  ravished  breast? — 
But  Thou  canst  read  it  there ! 

Thy  providence  my  life  sustained, 
And  all  my  wants  redrest, 
When  in  the  silent  womb  I  lay. 
And  hung  upon  the  breast. 

To  all  my  weak  complaints  and  cries 
Thy  mercies  lent  an  ear. 
Ere  yet  my  feeble  thoughts  had  learnt 
To  form  themselves  in  prayer. 

Unnumbered  comforts  to  my  soul 
Thy  tender  care  bestowed, 
Before  my  infant  heart  conceived 
From  whence  those  comforts  flowed. 

— Joseph  Addison. 


A  Safe  Stronghold. 

Translated  by  Thomas  Carlyle  from  the  German  of  Martin  Luther. 

A  Safe  Stronghold  our  God  is  still, 

A  trusty  shield  and  weapon ; 
He  '11  help  us  clear  from  all  the  ill 

That  hath  us  now  o'ertaken. 
The  ancient  prince  of  hell 
Hath  risen  with  purpose  fell; 
Strong  mail  of  craft  and  power 
He  weareth  in  this  hour — 

On  earth  is  not  his  fellow. 

By  force  of  arms  we  nothing  can — 
Full  soon  were  we  down-ridden  ; 

But  for  us  fights  the  proper  man, 
Whom  God  himself  hath  bidden, 

Ask  ye,   Who  is  this  same  ? 


500  Murdoch^ s  Elocution, 

Christ  Jesus  is  His  name, 
The  Lord  Zebaoth's  Son — 
He  and  no  other  one 

Shall  conquer  in  the  battle. 

And  were  this  world  all    devils   o'er. 
And  watching  to  devour  us, 

We  lay  it  not  to  heart  so  sore — 
Not  they  can  overpower  us. 

And  let  the  prince  of  ill 

Look  grim  as  e'er  he  will, 

He  harms  us  not  a  whit; 

For  why?     His  doom  is  writ — 
A  word  shall  quickly  slay  him. 

God's  word,  for  all  their  craft  and  force. 
One  moment  will  not  linger; 

But,  spite  of  hell,  shall  have  its  course— 
'Tis  written  by  His  finger. 

And  though  they  take  our  life, 

Goods,  honor,  children,  wife. 

Yet  is  their  profit  small ; 

These  things  shall  vanish  all — 
The  city  of  God  remaineth. 


I 


INDEX. 


Prose  Extracts. 

title.  page 

A  [an  Higher  than  his  Dwelling-place 138 

I  atent  Principles  of  Religion 138 

I  nwritten  Music 140 

I  ecollections  of  a  Gifted  Woman 140 

The  Professor  at  the  Breakfast  Table 141 

1  he  Musical  Instrument 142 

1  he  Sketch-book     .         .         .        ". 1 58 

'J  he  Nature  of  True  Eloquence 163 

1  he  Music  of  Nature 182 

i  .nalysis  of  Hamlet's  Speech 203 

^v^'ords 296 

( •ualities  of  a  Well  Regulated  Mind 298 

( »  come,  let  us  sing  unto  the  Lord        .         .         .         .         .  300 

Manners  ...........  3*^9 

I  .ecitation 310 

l-partacus  to  the  Gladiators  at  Capua 310 

!■  ong  of  Israel          .         . 311 

'he  Nobility  of  Labor  .         .         .^ 312 

' 'aste  and  Genius    .         . 317 

J-outh  Carolina  and  Massachusetts 330 

]  atriotism .  336 

'he  beauty  of  Israel  is  slain  upon  Thy  high  places     .         .   .      341 

'  hen  Job  answered  and  said           ......  358 

]  .eading  the  Scriptures  and  other  Holy  Books      .         .         .  359 

^  v^ithout  God  in  the  World 389 

]  ,ord  Thurlow's  Reply  to  the  Duke  of  Grafton     .         .         .  392 

i-  ong  of  Moses         .........  394 

(501) 


502 


Index. 


Poetical  Extracts. 

FIRST    LINE. 

A  bow-shot  from  her  bower  eaves 

A  fool,  a  fool! — I  met  a  fool  i'  th'  forest     . 

Alack,  I  am  afraid  they  have  awak'd  . 

And  ever  when  the  moon  was  low 

And  here  his  course  the  chieftain  staid 

And  shall  the  mortal  sons  of  God 

And  wherefore  should   these  good  news  make  me  sick 

Angels  and  ministers  of  grace  defend  us 

As  Sir  Launfal  made  morn  through  the  darksome  gat 

At  midnight  in  his  guarded  tent  . 

Away ! — away ! — and  on  we  dash  . 

Ay,  Proteus,  but  that  life  is  alter'd  now 

Ayr  gurgling  kiss'd  his  pebbled  shore  .. 

Beshrew  your  heart,  for  sending  me  about    . 
Breathes  there  a  man  with  soul  so  dead 
But,  lo !  the  dome — the  vast  and  wondrous  dome 
But  William  answer'd  short    .... 

Come  pensive  Nun  devout  and  pure 
Content!  the  good,  the  golden  mean    . 

Death  is  here,  and  death  is  there 
Down  the  dimpled  greensward  dancing 

Hail!  holy  Light,  offspring  of  Heav'n  first  born 

Hear  what  Highland   Nora  said     . 

He  who  hath  bent  him  o'er  the  dead  . 

Him  have  I  seen !  oh,  sight  to  cheer    . 

How  far,  how  very  far  it  seemed 

I  charm  thy  life  from  the  weapons  of  strife 
I  chatter  over  stony  ways       .... 

I  conjure  you,  by  that  which  you  profess     . 
I  had  a  dream,  which  was  not  all  a  dream 
I  said  to  the  rose  ...... 

Is  there  a  way  to  forget  to  think 


Index. 


503 


1  IRST    LINE. 

]t  was  an  eve  of  autumn's  holiest  mood 
]   who  essayed  to  sing  in  earlier  days   . 

l^ast  came  Joy's  ecstatic  trial  .... 

l^eave  wringing  of  your  hands        .... 

l.et  me  play  the  Fool 

l.ochiel,   Lochiel,   beware  of  the  day 

Lord  Cardinal,   to  you  I  speak       .... 

Most  potent,  grave,  and  reverend  signiors    . 

r^  lever,  lago.     Like  to  the  Pontic  Sea   . 

(•h  for  a  tongue  to  curse  the  slave 

(»h  listen,  man,  a  voice  within  us  speaks  the  startling  word 

C'h  sweet  is  the  sound  of  the  shuttle  and  loom    . 

(  nee  at  midnight,  just  as  Arktos  .... 

C  nee  more  unto  the  breach,  dear  friends 

C  n  me  exercise  not  thy  hatred  for  this  misery  befallen 

C    now  forever,   Farewell  the  tranquil  mind  . 

C    sleep,  O  gentle  sleep 

C    woe  to  you,  ye  lofty  halls  .... 


lick  clouds  away,  and  welcome  day 

(^  ueen  of  the  silver  bow,  by  thy  pale  beam 

S  ;arch  there,   nay,  probe  me 

S  ng  the  bridal  of  nations       .... 

S  )  as  I  sat  upon  Appledore  .... 

S  )me  words  on  language  may  be  well  applied 

S  ay,   lady — stay  for  mercy's  sake  . 

S  ay  you  that  bear  the  corpse,   and  set  it  down 


T  :hassan  Ouglou  is  on 

T  lat  I  did  love  thee,  Caesar,  O  't  is  true 
T  le  angel  with  great  joy  received  his  guests 
T  le  armaments,  which  thunder-strike  the  walls  of  rock 
cities      ........ 

T  le  cock  is  crowing,   the  stream  is  flowing  . 


built 


504 


Index. 


Then  sing,  ye  birds,  sing,  sing  a  joyous  song 

The  spring,  she  is  a  blessed  thing 

The  vaults  beneath  the  mosaic  stone     . 

They  do  me  wrong  and  I  will  not  endure  it 

Thou  from  primeval  nothingness  didst  call  . 

Three  times  shall  a  young  foot-page 

'T  is  a  time  for  memory  and  for  tears  . 

Too  hard  to  bear!  why  did  they  take  me  thence 


299 
362 

293 
326 

158 
357 
335 
329 


Upon  the  king!  let  us  our  lives,  our  souls 


139 


Waken,  lords  and  ladies  gay .... 
War !  war !  no  peace !  peace  is  to  me  a  war 
We  come!  we  come!  and  ye  feel  our  might 

What  is  eternity  ? 

What !   while  our  arms  can  wield  these  blades 
Whence  and  what  art  thou,  execrable  shape 
When  Duncan  is  asleep  .... 

Who  is  it  that  hath  warn'd  us  to  the  walls 
Within  'twas  brilliant  all  and  light 
With  thee,  sweet  Hope,  resides  the  heavenly  light 


160 
339 
361 
360 
165 

325 
171 

155 
317 
336 


Yet,  like  some  sweet,  beguiling  melody 
Yon  deep  bark  goes  where  traffic  blows 


162 
337 


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